All onboard walk away unscathed
By Raymond Kongwa and Felicia Saunders Guardian Staff Reporters
Eight passengers and two crewmembers walked away with little more than increased blood pressure after crash landing in waters south of New Providence on Friday.
The pilot of the 19-seat Southern Air flight to New Providence from Cat Island was identified as Bahamian Captain Elston Gaitor. First Officer J. Knowles, another Bahamian aviator assisted the captain.
Police Chief Superintendent Marvin Dames said information reaching investigators was that the Beechcraft 1900 aircraft began losing power in one of its engines 20 minutes after leaving Arthur's Town Airport at 1:40 p.m.
The engine reportedly died moments afterward, and a short time later, the second engine started experiencing problems.
Faced with a complete loss of power, Supt. Dames said that the pilots "decided they would keep focus and ditch in the areas in the southern end of New Providence... they said that waters were low and would give them a better chance of survival."
Supt. Dames said the "smart" actions of the pilots had probably help to avoid any serious injuries.
Eyewitness Veronica Clarke, along with a granddaughter and two nieces watched the crash from the shoreline only several metres from where the plane made impact. She said she had just been swimming in the immediate area of the accident, but had moved to shore.
"We were on the shore line of the beach, and we realised the plane was coming down toward us. It made a splash and after it landed it made a U turn," Clarke said adding that she and her relatives "ran like more toward the bushes because we thought it might blow."
Dale Brown rendered his assistance to the passengers and crewmembers of the aircraft following his arrival at the crash site.
He said he was driving in his truck on Baillou Hill Road South when he noticed the plane in distress. Nearing the crash he met Clarke and others standing in shock on the beach where the plane went into the water.
"The people were there in shock, so I just ran straight out to the plane. What really gave me inspiration was when I saw the lady put her head to the window," he said.
His initial thoughts were of the plane exploding, but when there were signs of life in the plane he said he "went to save some lives. Here it is I'm running out to a plane and I don't know what the problem is, but all I was thinking of was the lives on the plane," Brown said.
After walking out to the plane in the four-foot South Beach waters, he noticed the crew trying to get the door of the plane open. According to Brown, the passengers and crewmembers seemed shock as a result of the crash. "Their facial expressions were very, very sad and very, very timid."
While helping passengers out of the plane, Brown said he tried to keep the pilot focused by telling him he did a good job bringing the plane down to safety. "I told him, man you did a good job, you doing all right, you alive," Brown said, adding that "Coming from that kind of height and knowing that you get a plane down and every body was all right and safe, I feel that is one of the best joy a person can have as a pilot."
A grateful Brown expressed thanks for the passengers' well-being, saying, "Thank God to see everyone walk out of the plane alive."
"No one has major injuries," said Dr Kevin Bowe, who along with nurses Morley and McPhee from South Beach clinic was among the initial emergency responders on the scene. Of the nine men and three women who walked to safety, he said, three had elevated blood pressure and were taken by ambulance to hospital. Two more were also taken to hospital for further evaluation, while five others declined medical care.
Confirming that engine failure was reported as the cause of the crash, Civil Aviation Department Flight Standard Instructor Randy Butler said a field investigation had begun. He said representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the manufacturer of the aircraft had been invited to participate in the probe.
