By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Aviation executives have cited a “domestic safety culture void” and “very weak” regulatory enforcement as factors that potentially contributed to the fatal Independence Day plane crash that killed all ten persons on board.

Captain Randy Butler, former chief executive at Sky Bahamas, told Tribune Business that - while this nation already possesses a strong civil aviation legal and regulatory framework - it must address “system” weaknesses that have thus far prevented full and effective implementation.

Speaking after Friday’s tragedy, in which the pilot and all passengers were killed when a plane owned by Flamingo Air crashed in bush on its approach to San Andros Airport, he also called to “keep the politics out” of regulating the domestic Bahamian aviation industry.

This newspaper’s sources have suggested several high-ranking politicians from the major parties have financial interests in Bahamian airlines and domestic carriers, and Mr Butler described the post-crash Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas’ decision to temporarily suspend Flamingo Air’s air operator certificate (AOC) - which prevents it from flying - as an example of “very reactive’ regulation as opposed to being proactive.

Other aviation industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, also pointed to Flamingo Air’s past safety record and suggested this should come under increased scrutiny. Tribune Business research found a number of safety incidents and accidents involving the Bahamian carrier and its planes, dating back at least a decade, including when a passenger door opened in mid-flight during a trip to Staniel Cay in October 2023.

While that flight returned safely to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), a publicly-accessible Internet aviation safety database records four incidents involving Flamingo Air planes between 2019 and 2026. In the most recent, on April 9 this year, a Beechcraft 99 owned by Flamingo Air suffered a left main gear collapsed on landing at LPIA, which was found to have been caused by a malfunction of system component failure.

The same type of plane, all operated by Flamingo Air, was involved in three separate incidents at Exuma’s Black Point airstrip between December 1, 2019, and August 24, 2023. Two of these involved the aircraft overshooting the runway and coming to rest in undergrowth, causing substantial damage but no injuries, following landing gear collapses.

Then, just hours before the fatal San Andros crash, another Flamingo Air plane bound for Mayaguana was forced to turn around and perform an emergency landing at LPIA after one of the engines caught fire in mid-flight.

But, while Mr Butler focused on systemic issues impacting Bahamian aviation regulation, other contacts were focused on what they branded “a melting pot” of other concerns including what they alleged is “the lack of a safety culture” that appears to be taking root in the domestic industry. They also cited economic challenges, with the Government increasingly “squeezing” the industry for taxes and fees; ageing aircraft; lack of training and maintenance; and “complacency” for worsening these woes.

One operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, contradicted Mr Butler by asserting that they receive “in-depth oversight and follow-up” from both airworthiness and operations inspectors at Civil Aviation. “You cannot blame oversight,” the contact, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. “That’s not the problem. All a safety management system involves is a piece of software feeding data into a computer.

“That’s not going to change the culture. The real problem is the lack of safety culture that appears to be taking place in domestic aviation in The Bahamas.” They added that operator training and maintenance budgets in an industry that already has relatively thin profit margins have come under increasing strain in recent years from ever-increasing expenses and cost pressures.

“The economics of aviation are very difficult to begin with, and the Government has started squeezing harder and harder lately,” the source said. “Part of it’s safety, part of it’s economics. The lack of a safety culture takes higher weight here. The other part is complacency.

“The Bahamas is blessed. We are flat; we don’t have obstacles at the end of the runway, we don’t have to contend with winter ice and very rarely have challenging runways. We exist in a very workload environment.” This, the source added, when coupled with the fact that pilots are routinely flying to the same destinations within The Bahamas, can breed over-familiarity and carelessness.

“Complacency is a factor, lack of training is a factor, economics is a factor, safety culture is a factor,” the source said. “With 40 year-old planes, this type of stuff will happen more as the lack of safety culture remains. In domestic aviation, there’s definitely a void when it comes to safety culture. You throw all that stuff into the melting pot….” They added that it is also becoming increasingly difficult to retain qualified pilots and mechanics given the higher salaries offered by markets such as the US.

Flight tracking data shows that the plane which crashed, a Cessna 402C with registration number C6-FLX, was flying multiple times daily between San Andros and LPIA during the week prior to the crash. Its registered owner, according to Civil Aviation data from early 2025, was Warren Meadows - likely a relative of Flamingo Air principal, Raymond Meadows. Flamingo Air subsequently confirmed it owns the plane.

Mr Butler, meanwhile, himself a former Civil Aviation safety inspector and accident investigator, told Tribune Business: “What is happening in The Bahamas is we have a regulatory framework but if you don’t implement, if you don’t work it, more regulations are not going to make us safer. This [accident] would have been a number of wake-up calls. This speaks louder because of the time of year.”

The former Sky Bahamas chief, who now lives in Andros, described Friday’s crash scene - which he personally witnessed - as “horrific”. He also lamented the absence of a proper fire crash rescue capacity at San Andros, adding that rescuers were aided by assistance from the nearby US AUTEC naval research facility and the Mennonites to reach the site which was in “rough terrain”.

Mr Butler also criticised what he said was the absence of a readily-available passenger manifest, which would have prevented family members “coming to the airport in horror” because they feared relatives were on the doomed flight. He added that he overheard some of the victims’ relatives suggesting that they form a ‘Family of Victims of the Andros Crash’ group to press for answers.

The ex-Sky chief, describing regulatory enforcement in the domestic aviation sector as “very weak”, said: “It has to do with training and qualifications. I think there’s a good leader, good group of people there, but there are also too many political appointees and the industry doesn’t respond to them. We need qualified people, but qualified people who demand the respect of the industry because the industry sees them as experienced, qualified people.

“Keep the politics out and you cannot put people in place just because the seats are empty… The operating environment is conducive to these kinds of things happening with all these homecomings and regattas. I would say this [accident] was 100 percent preventable because of the system. It’s the system. It’s like the thing that broke the camel’s back. It’s like a logic gate; if you go left, you have this, go right; you have this.”

Mr Butler questioned whether any checks were regularly conducted on plane weights, both passenger and baggage, prior to take-offs to prevent aircraft from being overloaded. More stringent scrutiny must also be applied to pilot licences, he argued, to ensure they are qualified to undertake commercial and charter flights, while politicians also need to stop using illegal charters especially at election time.

“Whose flying these party politicians and leaders of the community?” Mr Butler asked. “We have to take it seriously. During the election period, they cannot use illegal charters. The biggest carriers, when there are not enough flights or seats, go and send people to illegal charter operators.

“We have to have a civil aviation structure of qualified people - a system of certification, a system of inspection, a system of dealing with disciplinary issues. This is the moment to set the system up and make it work. You inspect to make sure everyone’s keeping the standards - illegal operators can’t. We have non-certified pilots flying commercial flights, which is no surprise because everyone knows what’s going on.

“People will feel better understanding there’s a safe regime, regulations are in place and being enforced, and people will not take chances. We’ll be looking at a different era.”