Flamingo Air says employee reprimanded after plane door opens mid-flight

As of Tuesday, October 3, 2023

SCREENSHOT of viral video showing a Flamingo Air plane door opened during flight.

FLAMINGO Air said an employee had been reprimanded after the passenger door of its plane flew open mid-air during a flight.

The airline described the incident as a “minor issue”.

A video showed the plane hovering over Bahamian waters with the door open. Residents reacted with horror at the clip.

Flamingo Air said a failure to fasten the latch caused the ladder to be deployed.

“We are deeply sorry for the recent incident that caused concern among our valued passengers,” the airline said. “We were just as shocked as everyone else when we saw that video of one of our aircraft’s boarding ladders being deployed while in flight. We want you to know that we take this matter very seriously.”

The airline said the loose latch was compounded by turbulence, causing the ladder to become detached.

“We want to emphasise that at no point was the safety of our aircraft or passengers compromised,” a statement from the airline said. “The incident was indeed a minor issue, but we take it seriously nonetheless.

“The individual responsible for this mishap has been reprimanded, and we are implementing a plan to introduce refresher courses for all our employees to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) is investigating the incident, which happened yesterday morning around 8.30am and involved a Beech 99 aircraft with Bahamas registration C6-MMK.

“Reports received indicate that the aircraft, operated by Flamingo Air Ltd, departed the Lynden Pindling International Airport with 17 persons on board enroute to the Staniel Cay Airport, Exuma, and shortly after departure, the aircraft passenger door opened in flight,” the authority said.

The aircraft safely returned to the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) without further incident.

In August, police in Exuma investigated the circumstances surrounding an emergency crash landing. A preliminary report indicated that the pilot of a Flamingo Air chartered flight with nine passengers crash-landed at Black Point, Exuma. No one was injured during that incident.