Four family members aboard a small plane that vanished off the coast of the Bahamas were found dead Tuesday, according to relatives who recovered the bodies themselves.
The plane, a five-seater PA-34 Piper with tail number N212ML, disappeared Monday afternoon after departing Great Harbour Cay bound for Miami Executive Airport. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft approximately 13 miles west of Andros Island, where authorities later confirmed a crash-landed occurred near Red Bays.
The U.S. Coast Guard had joined the search effort following reports of a downed aircraft, but relatives stated they located the victims independently and brought them aboard their own vessels. The family confirmed in a statement that all four individuals—80-year-old pilot Mario Lamar, his 79-year-old wife Lili Lamar, and their grandchildren Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22—were deceased.
Relatives said the flight departed at approximately 11:12 a.m. Monday and that Sofia Sosa had texted her parents in a family group chat that they were taking off. A flight plan filed by Lamar indicated an expected landing time. The family contacted authorities after realizing text messages were not going through, according to Silvia Larrieu, Lamar’s niece.
Flight tracking data from FlightAware showed the aircraft descending from 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet in about three minutes before vanishing from radar, raising questions about potential weather-related complications. Lamar, described by family as a lifelong pilot with over 40 years of experience, had reportedly flown to his second home in Great Harbour Cay routinely. The group had spent the Labor Day weekend together before heading home to Miami.
Bahamas police initially reported the crash-landing to authorities at 2:20 p.m. Monday, and the Royal Bahamas Police Force confirmed the aircraft’s details, including its departure time and destination. The Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard, though inclement weather initially delayed search efforts. The Coast Guard later deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to assist in locating the wreckage.
The family stated they were working with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring the victims home "safely and with dignity." Larrieu told reporters that the group had departed "business as usual," with no indication of distress prior to the disappearance.
Background: The Piper PA-34 is a twin-engine aircraft commonly used for private travel, capable of seating up to six passengers. The model has been involved in prior incidents, though no direct correlation to this crash has been established. The Bahamas, a popular destination for private aviation, has multiple airstrips, including Great Harbour Cay, which serves as a common stopover for flights between the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Authorities have not yet released a cause for the crash, and the investigation remains ongoing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have not issued statements as of this report.