| Robert |
Oct 27th, 2004 03:25 PM |
ccc; Heed RobertoB's warning. I talked to a boater last year at the Conch Inn on Abaco. He said that both engines were out of gas on the sat 30 feet underwater, 8 miles from Great Abaco's airport. He indicated the Air Sunshine plane ran out of gas. A preschool child died in that crash as well. I posted this before, but here goes: Their certificate was revoked by the FAA several years ago, and they were brought into court for a hearing in Ft. Lauderdale. Apparently, they had overbooked flights, which all airlines do, but it's more difficult to find another empty seat on the small, charter ones. The FAA revoked their permit due to other violations, though, including": Falsifying weight and balance forms; lack of adequate flotation devices required for the over-water flights; and use of unqualified pilots. Then, Air Sunshine was bought out by another owner, and under new management, and was back in operation. You may want to call the FAA office in Atlanta, because all this is public knowledge, and someone will tell you the violations and safety records of airlines. Air Sunshine appealed to the NTSB. Apparently, they loaded a 9-passenger plane up with 10 people, and a hearing was scheduled. A pilot lost his certification, but he/she is appealing as well. Now, a company that bought up Air Florida is out of Texas, and is fully certified. There are some of the same employess, same equipment, some new faces in the operation, and some new planes, AND, their FFA certification comes from a FFA branch in Texas, not one in Florida. The government granted certification due to no violations with this new company, which isn't Air Florida...anymore...I think. Oh, boy! The FAA checks airlines chartered and private, that fly in and out of the Bahamas, either Bahamian owned or whatever. The FAA also does spot checks for drugs on these small, propeller planes, the licensure and certification of the pilots, at least twice/yearly. The FAA also rides with them occassionally, requires annual physicals of the pilots, etc. The FAA also requires these planes to be brought into the U.S. for 100 hours of annual maintenance. The FAA traverses the airports in the Bahamas to make sure they don't discount their fares by cutting back on maintenance, or using unqualified pilots to save money.To make a long story short, don't fly with them!! Call the FAA and find out all about them. Since I oft use small planes to fly to remote islands to conduct reef surveys, I spent time discussing what the U.S.A. does to keep these small prop businesses in line; they have accumulated mounds of info on them to share with you. So, contact the FAA and get the whole scoop on any small, chartered pland you get into. Remember, there's 3,000 feet of water depth off many Bahamian islands. Robert
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