NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Former Minister of Transport and Aviation Glennys Hanna-Martin on Monday refuted an article in a local tabloid which claimed that the runway of several Family Island airports did not have proper lighting and as a result, may have led to the crash of pilot Byron Ferguson’s airplane on Nov. 8.
“I have read where it is falsely asserted that government-owned runways were never equipped with emergency lighting systems. The facts are that by the end of the Christie administration in 2007, some 18 airports were equipped with emergency lighting systems on the respective runways which include Sandy Point, Abaco, and Great Harbour Cay,” Hanna-Martin said.
“On assuming office in 2012, the Christie administration equipped another 4 airports with emergency lighting systems.”
Hanna-Martin said this information can be easily verified. The Minister of Aviation, said, should be aware of the facts and is obliged to refute the tabloid’s publication.
“If emergency lights are non-operational, of which I am not aware of one way or the other, then that Minister must give an account as he has held the post for almost two years now and must know the status.”
The former Transport minister claimed that the tabloid’s publisher is seeking to deflect from the controversial facts that has unfolded in the eyes of the Bahamian people over the last several days surrounding the search and rescue efforts of Byron Ferguson.
To date, only pieces of Ferguson’s crashed Piper-Aztec airplane which crashed on Nov. 8 has been recovered. Search and recovery efforts continue.
