NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Authorities have suspended a search and rescue operation for the 70-year-old pilot of a twin-engine Cessna, which left Fort Lauderdale en route to North Eleuthera on Saturday.
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force reported yesterday that a search and rescue operation it was involved in along with Operation Bahamas Turks & Caicos (OPBAT), the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), and the US Coast Guard was suspended on Monday pending new information.
The search was initiated when the RBDF Operations Command Center received a report on the evening of August 19th regarding a twin Cessna (C402) aircraft that had departed from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport en route to North Eleuthera, with the 70-year-old pilot being the only person onboard.
The aircraft was last sighted by Fort Lauderdale towers, positioned 18 nautical miles northeast of Bimini.
“On the morning of August 20, OPBAT conducted an initial aerial search for several hours. RBDF surface assets, namely the HMBS Kamalamee and the RBDF Harbour Patrol Unit Safe boat, were deployed to the last known location. Additionally, USCG, RBDF, and RBPF aircraft participated in aerial searches. All deployed assets reported negative sightings of the overdue aircraft,” a statement by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force noted.
“Subsequent investigations by BASRA revealed that the overdue aircraft had not landed at any of the major airports in the northern and central Bahamas. OPBAT continued its search efforts near the aircraft’s last known position from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM on August 20.
“Despite challenging weather conditions, search operations persisted into the afternoon of August 21, 2023. Regrettably, both aerial and surface assets were unsuccessful in yielding any results.”
