MICAL Member of Parliament V. Alfred Gray hailed the pilot who survived Monday’s plane crash as a hero.

“I think the heroic effort was the captain on a single engine plane that lost its engine and went down 13 miles off New Providence,” Gray said last night in the House of Assembly.

On Monday evening Air Traffic Control at the Lynden Pindling International Airport reported a light aircraft crashing in waters south of New Providence shortly before sunset.

The single engine aircraft was en route from Crooked Island to New Providence with five Bahamians on board including a baby.

Everyone survived the crash. The survivors were identified as Anthiqueko Gibson, pilot, Lorenzo Moss, Autoria Moss, Andre Gibson and eight-month-old Andrew Gibson.

Following the crash, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force deployed a Fast Patrol craft P-128 coxswained by Petty Officer Peter Thompson to the area and was supported by an Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) helicopter.

After more than two hours of searching, a life raft was sighted by the OPBAT helicopter and the five passengers were retrieved by marines aboard the Defence Force vessel and transported to the Coral Harbour Base where an ambulance was standing by to provide medical attention.

All passengers appeared to be in good health.

According to Gray, relatives of the survivors were distraught until about 10 p.m. on Monday, but they were relieved after hearing that the survivors were rescued.

He said it was a blessing that none of the survivors were seriously injured, but the captain received minor scratches and bruises.

“We want to hail all of them as a wonderful, wonderful strong people of faith who held on to whatever they could have held on to until the rescue was made,” Gray said.

“So on behalf of the wonderful people of Crooked Island, particularly the family of the Landrail Point community, I would like to thank everybody and thank God for his mercy.”