NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Air Accident Investigation Department (AAID) continues to probe the plane crash which led to the disappearance of Captain Bryon Ferguson last November.
As for the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), Commodore Tellis Bethel reported on Friday that while the search has technically been called off, RBDF officers still frequent the area of the crash site during their regular patrols, so they continue to look for possible debris.
“Persons are still on the lookout, so in effect it would have been ended, but we still have people patrolling the area, so why not look out for any debris or the plane in that area,” Commodore Bethel said.
“I have tasked my people to continue because we are in that area, we patrol it daily, so it doesn’t make sense to end it if we are still in the area. In the meantime, we are assisting the Civil Aviation Authority with their report.”
Ferguson’s plane plunged into the sea, two nautical miles from the Lynden Pindling International airport last November 2018.
In the days following the crash, the RBDF was widely criticized for its handling of the search efforts, which led Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis to call for a full review of the incident.
Earlier this month, Kendall Dorsett, the operations investigator for the AAID, told Eyewitness News Online that in absence of key components of the aircraft, including the engine, the scope investigation of the investigation and analysis was limited.
However, he said investigators have ruled out weather as a factor which may have contributed to the crash.
Meanwhile, the Ferguson family continues to search for the aircraft, but has been challenged to raise the necessary funds to acquire a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can reach depths of up to 10,000 feet.
A GoFundMe page, titled ‘Bring Byron Home’ has raised over $25,000.
