Flamingo Air Crash Kills 10 in Bahamas as Texts Show 2-Hour Wait to Fill Seats

Q: Did the same deadly mistakes that killed singer Aaliyah cause the latest tragic Bahamas plane crash?

No one can say that yet. The latest Bahamas crash is still under investigation, so there is no confirmed evidence that it was caused by the same failures that killed Aaliyah in 2001. What is known is that both crashes involved a Cessna 402 in the Bahamas, which naturally invites comparison. In Aaliyah’s case, investigators found clear causes: the aircraft was substantially overloaded and the pilot had cocaine and alcohol in his system. Those were specific, documented findings, not assumptions. In the North Andros crash, officials have only confirmed that the Flamingo Air plane went down in the water after departing Nassau for San Andros, killing all 10 people aboard. The Bahamian Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority and the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation are investigating. The government has also temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s air operator certificate after this crash and a separate same-day incident in which another Flamingo Air aircraft returned to Nassau and later caught fire after passengers got off safely. That suspension signals serious safety concern, but it does not establish the cause of the fatal crash. There is, at this stage, no public finding that the plane was overloaded, that the pilot was impaired, or that the same chain of errors seen in Aaliyah’s crash was involved. The fairest answer is that parallels exist, but any claim that the same deadly mistakes caused this crash would be speculation until investigators release evidence.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jul 13

WhatsApp messages reviewed by CBS show the pilot delayed departure about two hours while trying to fill seats before the Flamingo Air flight left Nassau and crashed 18 minutes later near San Andros.
Five Da Pond Band members and DJ Fresh were among the 10 dead; surviving vocalist Shenia Roberts said the trip was supposed to be a charter for performers heading to an Independence Day event on Andros.
Flamingo Air suspended all flights after the crash and another plane fire earlier the same day in Nassau caused no injuries, while Bahamian investigators examine what caused the Cessna 402 to go down.
The loss has shaken the Bahamas' entertainment community, and families are still awaiting full identification of three other passengers, including a 16-year-old boy his mother believes was added at the last minute.