The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AIRCRAFT parts recovered alongside human remains from a large debris field north of Andros are believed to have come from the plane that crashed with an American family of four aboard, investigators said, nearly a week after relatives mounted their own search and recovered the victims.

A defence force spokesman yesterday said the remains were additional to those recovered by the relatives of the victims.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said a preliminary assessment indicates that components and other items recovered from the debris field came from the Piper PA-34, registration N212ML, which disappeared on Monday, September 7.

However, the agency said further verification and examination will be required before a conclusive determination is made.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force divers located the debris field at about 12.01pm on Friday, approximately 11 nautical miles north of Williams Cay, Andros, while conducting search operations.

The RBDF said the field contained aircraft parts and human remains.

Additional Defence Force personnel and resources were sent to the area to assist with the recovery of evidence and continuing operations.

The discovery marks a significant development in the investigation into the crash, which killed pilot Mario Lamar, his wife, Lili, and their two grandchildren, Sofia Sosa and Christian Sosa.

The family was returning home after spending the holiday at their vacation home in Great Harbour Cay.

N212ML departed Great Harbour Cay for Opa-locka, Florida, shortly after 11am on Monday but lost contact with air traffic control about 13 miles west of Andros.

Relatives later mobilised their own search teams and found one of the passengers. The family subsequently confirmed that the remaining passengers had also been found dead and brought aboard vessels operated by relatives.

Family members said at the time that neither Bahamian authorities nor the US Coast Guard was searching the waters when they recovered their loved ones.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Floyd Moxey later defended the force’s response, saying he was satisfied with its search and rescue efforts.

The AAIA said its examination of the recovered aircraft components and other items remains ongoing as investigators work to conclusively establish that they came from N212ML.

The Defence Force said its recovery operations also remain ongoing.