A Florida family is facing a nightmare this week. A small plane carrying a couple and their two grandchildren went down on Monday. The crash happened 13 miles west of Andros Island in the Bahamas. The group was returning from a Labor Day weekend trip to their vacation home.
Bahamian authorities received the report at 2:20 p.m. on Monday. The Royal Bahamas Police Force confirmed the five-seater Piper aircraft plummeted into the water. The pilot was Mario Lamar, 80. His wife, Lili Lamar, was 79. They were flying with two of their grandchildren. The family told the Miami Herald that 28-year-old Sofia Sosa and 22-year-old Christian Sosa were on board. All four people are still missing. FlightAware data tracks the final moments of the flight. Rough weather was encountered by the plane near the north end of Andros Island.
Its speed rapidly fluctuated before the altitude suddenly dropped. In a span of three minutes, the aircraft dropped from 10,000 feet down to 3,700 feet. The US Coast Guard is now assisting with the search. They are using an HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane to help authorities find the wreckage. The family says the pilot was well-trained. His relatives told ABC News that Mario Lamar has “more than 40 years of flying experience.”
Sofia Sosa is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University. Her brother, Christian Sosa, just graduated from Loyola Marymount University. The family is heartbroken and asking for public support. Silvia Larrieu, a niece of the couple, spoke to the Miami Herald about their bond.
“They’ve spent their whole life going there. That’s like their second home,” Larrieu said, according to the New York Post. “They were coming home.” She noted that the bad weather prevented immediate search efforts by Bahamian forces. Now the family is reaching out to anyone who can assist. “I ask anybody out there, if you can help with search and rescue efforts, we would greatly appreciate it. We need to bring them home,” she said.
The aircraft departed from Great Harbor Cay that morning. It was en route to Opa-locka, Florida, when the tragedy struck. Search teams are working hard against the clock. The US Coast Guard continues to coordinate efforts with local authorities. The family hopes to bring their loved ones home safely. They are relying on the community to help fill the gaps in the search.
For now, the wreckage remains underwater. The four missing loved ones have not yet been found.
