The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREEPORT – Relatives of the four victims killed in a plane crash off Grand Bahama were in Grand Bahama on Monday to identify the remains of their loved ones.

Police accompanied the families to the Rand Memorial Hospital morgue around 4pm for the official identification of the bodies recovered from waters off Queens Cove on Sunday.

The pilot is believed to be Anthony Wishart, who is a resident of Portuga, Florida, and Fishers, Indiana. The other passengers are believed to be husband and wife, Glen and Leslie Steiner, and Cindy Miewzea.

Aviation officials were at the crash site on Monday continuing their investigations into the fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of all four American citizens.

The victims were on a sightseeing tour of the island when their Cirrus SR22 No 432BC single-engine plane went down around 11am on Sunday shortly after take-off. The aircraft was completely destroyed on impact.

Although Asst Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour did not release the identities of the victims, he confirmed that the official identification of victims were being conducted and would be released later in the evening.

When The Tribune arrived at the hospital sometime after 4pm, the victims’ relatives were seated in the hospital chapel. Police officers stood guard outside the door to keep the media at bay.

A woman, believed to be the pilot’s wife, appeared to be devastated. She was accompanied by the son and daughter.

ACP Seymour said investigations are still undergoing into the cause of the crash.

“We still do not know what caused the crash, and that will take a while,” he said. “Civil Aviation Authority officials and Police are on the ground conducting investigations.”

The aircraft was registered to First Class Flyers LLC, in Cicero, Indiana. Wishart, a businessman, held a Private Pilot License for the aircraft.

Shortly after take-off from the airport, Wishart had radioed the Control Tower to report engine problems.

BASRA officials responded and located the downed aircraft around noon in shallow waters about seven miles west of the airport.

No one survived the crash.

“It was not a pretty sight,” said a spokesman from BASRA.

The four victims were reportedly in Grand Bahama for about a week. The group went on a sightseeing tour of the island. They were scheduled to return to the airport at the end of the aerial tour.