The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Independence Day plane crash that killed ten people near San Andros Airport ranks among the country’s worst aviation disasters in recent history, investigators said yesterday as they revealed that the aircraft struck trees while apparently configured to land before plunging into a wooded area and erupting in flames.

Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority chief investigator Kendall Dorsett said preliminary tracking data showed the Flamingo Air Cessna 402C descending from about 1,000ft before radar contact vanished roughly two minutes later.

Investigators found the aircraft’s landing gear and flaps extended in the wreckage about one nautical mile west of Runway 12.

“Based on those observations, it appears the aircraft was configured for landing prior to impact,” Mr Dorsett said.

The aircraft first struck trees before travelling a short distance and coming to rest in the wooded area, where fire destroyed it.

One person survived the initial impact and escaped the aircraft but later died from their injuries, bringing the death toll to ten.

Asked whether the July 10 disaster ranked among the worst in Bahamian aviation history, Mr Dorsett said: “It definitely would be one of the worst based on recent history.”

The AAIA has launched an extensive investigation involving aviation authorities and manufacturers in the United States, but Mr Dorsett cautioned that investigators remain far from determining what caused the crash.

“We’re looking at just four days after the accident,” he said. “The only thing that we have done is what we call the on-scene gathering of information phase, so basically we are just gathering data at this time.”

Mr Dorsett extended condolences to the victims’ relatives and said the scale of the tragedy had reinforced the authority’s commitment to aviation safety.

Despite the catastrophic loss of life, he insisted the country’s aviation industry remains safe, pointing out that The Bahamas recorded no fatal aviation accidents last year.

“Fortunately, we had no fatal accidents last year, and so yes, it’s still a safe industry,” he said.

Mr Dorsett said aviation remains essential to The Bahamas as an archipelagic nation, making the authority’s safety work particularly critical.

He also stressed that the AAIA operates independently and would investigate without interference.

“We are completely independent,” he said. “We are free of interference to do what we have to do, and that’s why we are standing here today presenting this information as an independent authority.”

Preliminary information indicates that the aircraft, registration C6-FLX, departed Lynden Pindling International Airport at about 12.30pm on a visual flight plan bound for San Andros Airport.

The pilot closed the flight plan with Nassau air traffic control at 12.41pm while the aircraft was about ten miles east of San Andros.

Flight-tracking data indicates that the aircraft was travelling south when it began descending from approximately 1,000ft at about 12.46pm.

It continued descending until radar contact was lost at about 12.48pm.

An investigative team travelled to Andros on the day of the crash and completed its initial assessment between July 10 and July 11.

Investigators documented the wreckage and began gathering air traffic control data and preliminary information from an air data service provider.

The review remains underway as the authority collects and analyses evidence.

The aircraft itself will form the centrepiece of the investigation.

“Once we recover the aircraft, that’s when we transport it to the United States,” Mr Dorsett said. “The main piece of evidence is the aircraft itself.”

He said the engines would be among the most critical components sent overseas for examination.

The AAIA has opened discussions with the United States National Transportation Safety Board because the aircraft was designed and manufactured in that country. It also expects assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Investigators are coordinating with the aircraft and engine manufacturers in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, which require collaboration with relevant states during accident investigations.

The investigation will examine the aircraft’s maintenance and airworthiness records, the pilot’s records, air traffic control information, weather conditions, witness accounts, medical information, fuel records and human factors.

The AAIA has also requested documents from the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas.

Mr Dorsett warned against drawing conclusions before investigators have received and examined the records.

The investigation is intended to expose safety failures and produce recommendations aimed at preventing another disaster, not to assign criminal or civil responsibility.

“It is not intended to apportion blame or determine liability,” he said.

Asked whether the crash would trigger heightened scrutiny of Flamingo Air, Mr Dorsett declined to delve into the airline’s previous accident record.

“I know persons have been mentioning that and so certainly there are certain records of occurrences,” he said. “But at the outset this is primarily for this particular accident, and to get into that at this time would not be appropriate because we’re trying to set a precedent on the information that we have at the time.”

He said regulatory oversight of the airline falls outside the AAIA’s jurisdiction.

The crash aircraft was not required to carry a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder because of its size, Mr Dorsett said.

He described the absence of the devices as normal for that class of aircraft and insisted it would not prevent investigators from establishing a probable cause.

“It would definitely be an advantage to have that information, but that does not mean that we cannot come up with the probable cause,” he said.

Investigators will instead reconstruct the final flight through other evidence, including communications with air traffic controllers.

“Air traffic, whatever recordings they have, we have,” Mr Dorsett said. “We’ve already started to receive a tranche of recordings and related files.”

The AAIA intends to publish a preliminary report within 30 days of the crash.

It is targeting the release of a final report within 12 months, in line with international standards, although Mr Dorsett acknowledged that complex aviation investigations can stretch to 18 months or two years.

“That’s our time frame based on ICAO standards,” he said. “That’s a global thing.”

Mr Dorsett said the AAIA has consistently completed investigations within the 12-month target and intends to do so again because of the gravity of the disaster.

However, he said the extensive international cooperation required could affect the timetable.