US to deport Trini student who tried to steal plane

Hillview College graduate Nishal Sankat is due to be deported to Trinidad on Wednesday in a plea deal for attempting to steal a plane in Orlando last month.

Florida Today reported Sankat, 22, pleaded guilty to burglary to a conveyance, which is a third degree felony, in a court appearance on Monday.

Charges of trespassing and grand theft were dropped against Sankat, the son of Professor Clement Sankat, former principal of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus.
Sankat, a Florida Institute of Technology senior, was accused of attempting to steal an American Airlines jet at Melbourne International Airport, Orlando on September 20.

Florida Today reported Sankat will be deported to Trinidad, placed on America's "no-fly" list, and barred from returning to the United States.
Sankat, who was studying aviation management, was sentenced to 12 days time served at the Brevard County Jail Complex. He must also pay US$909 to cover the cost of the Melbourne Airport Police Department investigation.

"The plea was part of an agreement reached after an extensive investigation by Melbourne Police, Melbourne Airport Police, Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the FBI found Sankat acted alone and was suffering from depression and mental health issues when he boarded the American Airlines jet on September 20, 2018," the State Attorney's Office wrote in a news release, according to the paper.

Sankat had been placed on a suicide watch.

Investigators said Sankat left his red Toyota idling at the passenger terminal about 2 am, climbed a perimeter fence, and boarded an American Airlines jet parked on the tarmac outside the STS Mod Center.

Sankat had no prior criminal history. The Federal Aviation Administration was due to revoke his pilot's licence.