Four missing after Bahamas-to-Miami aircraft disappears near Andros

Bahamas: Authorities are carrying out an immediate air and sea search for four missing individuals after a small aircraft disappeared while en route from the Bahamas to South Florida on Monday, September 7, 2026. The five-seat Piper PA-34 plane, registered in the United States as N212ML, took off from Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands at around 11:12 a.m. and was travelling to Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.

As confirmed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, aviation controllers were unable to establish contact with the aircraft nearly 13 miles to the west of Andros Island. Following which authorities received information that the aircraft is believed to have crashed down in waters off Red Bays, North Andros. The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the site of the incident was nearly 15 miles off Andros Island.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Public Relation Officer Lieutenant Darius Adams publicly stated that “The missing four people aboard the aircraft were identified by relatives as Mario Lamar Sr., 80, his wife Lili Lamar, 79 and their grandchildren Christian Sosa, 22 and Sofi Sosa, 28." Relatives informed that Lamar, who was operating the aircraft, had more than 40 years of flying experience.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force sought support from the U.S. Coast Guard, which committed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to assist with the search. Bahamian officials are also overseeing search efforts around North Andros. However, preliminary searches could not locate the aircraft or its occupants.

Adverse weather has affected the operation. Bahamian police stated that the search activities were halted because of poor weather conditions with operations expected to resume once the weather conditions permit.

Unofficial reports circulated mentions that weather may have resulted in the aircraft’s disappearance as flight-tracking data showed the plane seemingly changing direction near Andros while storms were within the area. However, authorities have not verified that weather disturbance caused the incident and the circumstances surrounding the disappearance remain subject to the further investigation.

According to the current official and family information available, there has been no official confirmation about the missing four individuals being found and search officials continue to treat the incident as an urgently ongoing search-and-rescue operation.