Two perish in plane crash

Two pilots believed to be Bahamians were killed when a jet crashed in bushes near Treasure Cay International Airport in Abaco shortly after 3:30 p.m. yesterday, authorities said.

Police said the aircraft, an IAI Westwind, was engulfed in flames when officers arrived at the crash site.

“Initial inquiries revealed that the airplane was observed taxiing and a short time later, smoke and flames [were] seen coming from the airplane,” police reported.

“Additionally, two pilots [were] onboard the airplane when it crashed. Further checks were made and there were no signs of life onboard.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle said the bodies were burned beyond recognition.

Rolle said authorities were in the process of recovering the bodies as of 7 p.m.

Minister of Tourism and Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar said the plane arrived on Abaco from the Dominican Republic on Friday.

“It dropped off, I presume, some foreign visitors; I’m not sure who,” he told The Guardian.

“The plane then filed a flight plan to fly from Treasure Cay to Nassau. We don’t know the intention, but it probably was to refuel. In taking off, the plane crashed.”

A video, which was recorded by Pastor Silbert Mills, an Abaco resident, showed a plume of smoke rising from flames at the crash site.

Other images of charred, mangled plane parts were also widely circulated on social media.

North Abaco Administrator Terrece Bootle-Laing said the flames and location of the crash site made it difficult for emergency services to access it.

“It was engulfed in flames, so accessing the plane directly through the wooded areas was difficult for fire services,” she said.

“So, it was not the lack of emergency personnel to render the necessary assistance, but it was that it was in a wooded area. They got as close as they could to the scene.”

Asked if firefighters were able to get the flames under control, Bootle-Laing replied, “Well, thank goodness there was a heavy rainfall during that time, and so that was able to aid because there was a concern with the dry bush; if it wasn’t for that heavy rainfall in getting all of the fire out.”

A team from the Air Accident Investigation Authority is expected to be deployed to Treasure Cay this morning to conduct an investigation into what caused the crash.

The post Two perish in plane crash appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/two-perish-in-plane-crash/