It was in fact the first aircraft of the Air Force of the young independent nation of Suriname, the Hughes 500 - Model 369D helicopter, used for patrolling missions, in March of that year, killing all five crewmembers aboard at the time (Major Henk Fernandes, second lieutenant Norman de Miranda, soldier Tjon a Kon and soldier Kowid and American pilot Foster Ford).

[7] Battalion commander Major Henk Fernandes, had previous been appointed to replace Sergeant Laurens Neede as Minister of Army and Police in 1982.

In 2018 Surinamese Minister Patrick Pengel of Public Works Transport & Communication closed the control tower of the Major H. Fernandes airport in Nickerie.

[8] In May 2019 Sanjay Ramsamoedj, chairman of the Eastern Council in the Nickerie district, pleaded for a complete rehabilitation of the Major Henry Fernandes Airport in Zeedijk.

According to district commissioner Nisha Kurban-Baboe, Vijay Chotkan, the new minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications, indicated during a meeting with all DCs that all airports in Suriname will be addressed.