Bahamas Plane Crash: Severe weather, engine failure cited as causes

Bahamas: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) of the Bahamas has revealed preliminary details on the fatal plane crash that took place on September 12, citing severe weather conditions and engine failure as the contributing factors.

According to the information, the Piper Aztec PA-23-250 was en route from Nassau, Bahamas, to Andros before the pilot ditched the small plane 8 miles west of Nassau. It was reported that six people were onboard, with two of them tragically losing their lives.

The AAIA said that the investigations reported that after departing from the Lyden Pindling International Airport around 1:57 pm, the pilot of N555MH was not able to land at Andros because of severe weather conditions.

The pilot initially chose to return to Nassau and while enroute called an emergency with Nassau Air Traffic Control after witnessing a loss of engine power but was unable to maintain altitude following which he ditched the aircraft in waters around 8 miles west of the final destination.

Soon after the crash, the authorities went for rescue operations and retrieved all six individuals, but two of them succumbed to their injuries while others were rushed to the hospital for treatment. 

The victims have been identified as Allen Russell of Lowe Sound and Emma McQueen, both of whom were in their 70s or 80s.

Meanwhile, a survivor of this fatal plane accident shared the details of this tragic story, saying that the journey turned ‘deadly.’ 

He said that the pilot faced problem with the landing and the Nassau authorities did not turn the airport lights on following which the pilot had to land on the water which felt like a ‘jet ski’. 

The victim said, “At the last stop, the impact happened; when the sliding stop, boom, everything was just sudden, so everybody went ahead a little, but there was no damage.”

He said that the deceased female was very afraid and she said that she could not swim, but everyone asked her to stay strong, and so she did, but all of them stayed in a group for more than an hour before help arrived. He added that by the time help did arrive, the woman had died.

“I see her cough a few times, and her eyes just turn grey, but at no point, she went under, and I had her right there, but she died,” said the accident survivor.

He also mentioned that the deceased male was alive when the help arrived, but because he was not administered CPR immediately, he died.