Young mother loses life in crash, six other injured
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Survivors of a plane crash in Long Island on Sunday are still coming to grips with the harrowing ordeal that left a woman dead and several others nursing injuries.
Federal Aviation Administration records show the Piper PA-31 aircraft that went down two miles off the Deadman’s Cay airport had a valid certificate which was confirmed on March 24, 2022, and was set to expire on March 31, 2025.
According to FAA records, the pilot, Bradley McPhee, obtained his Airline Transport Pilot certificate in 2014 and has an Airplane Multiengine Land rating which permits him to fly planes with multiple engines like the PA-31.
Now Air Accident Department investigators are trying to track down the six survivors of the crash to figure out what happened.
“We know that this a traumatizing time for them,” chief accident investigator Delvin Major said yesterday, “but we need to speak to them as soon as possible while the incident is fresh in their minds.”
Aleitheia Newbold, a mother of a seven-month-old baby, died after the crash.
Authorities had to “cut through miles of inaccessible marshland and rocky terrain” to reach the crash site, according to Works & Utilities Minister Alfred Sears, whose daughter, Nia Bethel, was taken to a clinic and treated for her injuries.
“Surely, you can imagine that the frenzy and trauma have truly left us all shaken,” he said in a statement.
“The rescue of the survivors was difficult and courageous,“ he added.
“Police Superintendent McGregor led the police search and rescue team. I telephoned Mr. Stefan Knowles, at 9:39 am, who was about to take a plane from Long Island to Exuma. Stefan immediately volunteered to lead a search and rescue team and directed the pilot coming for him to divert to make an aerial location of the crash site. When I heard from Stefan again, he had reached the crash site and was assisting the survivors.
Sears said: “Unfortunately, Stefan injured his foot in assisting the survivors. I wish Stefan a speedy and full recovery. I also spoke by telephone with Senator Tyrel Young, who was in Long Island, at 10:01 am. Tyrel immediately volunteered to mobilize a team to join the rescue efforts, Tyrel also called from the crash site.
“Numerous other volunteers in Long Island joined the search for and rescue of the survivors of the plane crash. We are grateful for your selfless assistance.”
Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was told of the incident when he called Sears about a concern related to drainage in his constituency.
Dr Minnis soon called one of the survivors, Aliicia Rolle, to offer advice and guidance to the others.
“What happened is I had called (Sears),” Minnis said yesterday.
“I was driving through my area observing the flooding and when I reached Bahamia west I noticed that I needed drains so I called him for assistance to assist with flooding in my area and he asked whether I heard about the plane crash.
“I said no I hadn’t heard about any plane crash. And he said they trying to get a boat to go to the part because they understanding it’s in the sea somewhere so I said no problem I’ll call my contacts now and dispatch a boat and I called my contact and they said there was no plane in the water.”
Minnis said: “(Sears) was concerned about everybody. I hear people saying he was concerned only about his daughter but I can say that wasn’t true. He said he had a phone number for one of the passengers and I said okay give me the number let me see if I could contact her.
“So I contact the young lady and I asked her what the situation is and she said they are now in the marsh and one person is very hurt, they having a lot of chest pains.”
Minnis said he told Rolle to feel the pulse of the woman who complained of chest pains and to assess her respiratory rate.
“I said okay listen, the person will be okay, the pulse is stable, the respiratory rate is stable but don’t move her too much because I’m not sure the rib may have been fractured but she’s fine,” he said.
“I told her let me speak to the person. I told the person ‘listen, I’m a doctor, I’ve just assessed you, you are fine, don’t panic or anything, you are stable, you will be okay.”
Dr Minnis said he only later found out that Sears’ daughter was the woman with chest pain.
He said he did not know someone was killed until after the survivors had been rescued from the marshland.
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