Weather halts Bahamas search for plane with four aboard
A pilot, his wife and two grandchildren were on a Miami-bound Piper aircraft that lost contact with air traffic control near Andros Island.
Bad weather has forced the suspension of a search for four family members whose small plane disappeared off the Bahamas on Monday (September 7, 2026), Bahamian police said.
The aircraft, a five-seat Piper PA-34 with registration N212ML, was returning from Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands to Miami Executive Airport in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.
Police said they believed the plane had crash-landed off Red Bays in North Andros. Air traffic control lost contact with it about 13 miles west of Andros Island.
Flight-tracking data indicated that the aircraft circled several times before disappearing from radar. A storm was reported in the area, but whether the weather contributed to the suspected crash remained unclear.
US Coast Guard deploys search aircraft
The US Coast Guard said Bahamian authorities requested assistance at about 2pm local time, following a report of a downed aircraft carrying four people approximately 15 miles off Andros Island.
The Coast Guard’s Southeast District command centre arranged for an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to join the search.
There was no confirmed time for the operation to resume after the weather-related suspension.
Relative identifies missing family members
Silvia Larrieu identified the pilot as her uncle, Mario Lamar, and said he was travelling with his wife, Lily Lamar, and two grandchildren, Christian Sosa and Sophie Sosa.
In a video statement shared by Miami television station WSVN, she urged anyone with a boat, aircraft or useful information to “help us find them and bring them back alive”.
Sources: AP, ABC News, 7News Miami
