Friday, November 04, 2011

Cessna 402C, Acklins Blue Charter, C6-NLH. Lake Killarney, New Providence Island, Bahamas: Accident occurred October 5, 2010

THE lawyer representing the families of the men who were killed in the Lake Killarney plane crash is "frustrated" at not receiving an official investigation report from the Department of Civil Aviation.

Devard Francis said he needs the report in order to move forward with several law suits he plans to file on behalf of his clients.

He represents the families for all of the men involved in the October 5 plane crash, except pilot Nelson Hanna.

Mr Francis was tight-lipped on who the families intend to sue, however, sources said they will file claims against the Government, the manufacturer of the plane and a company that inspected the aircraft and cleared it for flight.

The findings of the crash probe, which was prepared by the Department of Civil Aviation, were exclusively published in The Tribune earlier this week.

Tourism and Aviation Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said the official report is expected to be released in less than month.

However, Mr Francis said he still has no idea what is in the report - except for what he read in The Tribune - despite his many efforts.

He said: "This is ridiculous. It has been more than a year and the families have yet to know what happened that day. We have written over a dozen letters to the aviation department and have gotten no response. I called them up to yesterday but they insist the report is still not ready. How long does this process take?"

Most of the victims' families are suffering financially without the men who were the "bread winners of the households".

"Some of these people are literally going through a financial drought without their husbands and brothers. The insurance companies are not releasing money to them because the report has not been released. These people are going through hell," said Mr Francis.

"God forbid another plane crashes and other families have to go through this delay. You have to remember that there were more victims than the people who died that day. Their families have now also become victims."

The 90-page report prepared by Delvin Major, an investigator at the Department of Civil Aviation, revealed several contributing factors to the crash that killed all nine people aboard. Pilot Nelson Hanna was not certified to operate commercial charter flights; he and his co-pilot ignored earlier signs that the plane's left engine was failing and the Cessna 402C was more than 500lbs overweight.

It also revealed Mr Hanna turned off the power to his plane's right engine, which showed no mechanical problems, while the plane's left engine was failing and smoking.

The Acklins Blue Air Charter went down minutes after take off from the Lynden Pindling International Airport on October 5, 2010.

All nine men on board the plane died as a result of the crash. They are Clarence Williams, 38; Chet Johnson, 39; Corey Farquharson, 41; Junior Lubin,23; Devon Storr, 27; Chanoine Mildor, 44; Lavard Curtis, 26; Delon Taylor, 28, and pilot Nelson Hanna, 43.

 
NTSB Identification: ERA11WA008
14 CFR Non-U.S., Non-Commercial
Accident occurred Tuesday, October 05, 2010 in Nassau, Bahamas
Aircraft: CESSNA 402, registration: C6NLH
Injuries: 9 Fatal.
 
On October 5, 2010, about 1236 Atlantic standard time, a Cessna 402C, Bahamian registration C6-NLH, registered to and operated by Lebocruise Air Limited, crashed into Lake Killarney shortly after takeoff from the Lynden Pindling International Airport (MYNN), Nassau, Bahamas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the non-U.S., non-commercial flight from MYNN to the San Salvador Airport (MYSM), Cockburn Town, Bahamas. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the certificated commercial pilot, co-pilot, and 7 passengers were killed. The flight originated about 1233, from MYNN.



The pilot was cleared to takeoff from runway 14, and according to the pilot of an airplane who was behind the accident airplane waiting to takeoff, white colored smoke was observed trailing the left engine during takeoff. The tower controller reportedly informed the accident pilot of the smoke and the accident pilot stated to the controller he needed to return to the airport and requested runway 27. While returning to the airport, a pilot-rated witness reported seeing the airplane in a “hard over” bank to the left followed by the airplane pitching nose down. The airplane crashed into the lake approximately 1,000 feet abeam the approach threshold of runway 32.

The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Bahamas. Any further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from:

Manager of Flight Standards Inspectorate, Bahamas
P.O. Box AP 59244
Nassau, N.P. Bahamas
Phone: (242) 377-3445/3448
Facsimile: (242) 377-6060

This report is for information purposes only, and contains only information released by or obtained for the Bahamian Government.

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