Traveling to Exuma isn’t exactly easy. Although these cays have become a tourist hotspot, and more commercial airlines are adding flights, getting here can still be challenging. Often the best option for visitors is to fly to Nassau before hopping on a smaller plane to Exuma.
Those travel plans didn’t work out too well for a plane full of American tourists though. It was reported that today at 10 am a plane crashed at the Staniel Cay airport in Exuma.
The plane, owned and operated by Azure Aviation Limited, skidded off the runway into the perimeter fence surrounding the airport as the pilot attempted to land. The 10-seater Cessna 104 plane departed New Providence and attempted to land in Exuma this morning.
All of the passengers on board were American tourists, but thankfully all were uninjured. The Bahamian pilot was also reported to escape the crash without injury.
The plan wasn’t so lucky. The twin-engine aircraft was extensively damaged in the crash.
After initial examination it appears the brakes failed, resulting in the plane crashing into the fence when it was unable to stop. Authorities have turned over the matter to the Department Civil Aviation for further investigation.
Luckily, no one was injured in the crash. However, this could be bad news for Exuma’s tourism. The US State Department issued a travel advisory warning for visitors to the Bahamas earlier in the year. Hopefully, this brake malfunction was an individual case, and not the result of a larger issue or poor regulation. This situation could have been much more tragic, but thankfully this accident didn’t result in any injuries or deaths.