Family members and loved ones of one of the pilots that went down in Thursday’s unfortunate plane crash were brought to tears yesterday as they expressed their extreme frustration with search and rescue attempts. 

Ashton Ferguson, brother of pilot Byron Ferguson told reporters that that though the men have yet to be found, they remain hopeful; but are bracing themselves with the harsh reality that their loved one may be gone forever. 

He said, “the information that we obtained indicated that my brother encountered difficulties about 40 miles off of the coast of  New Providence  with his door. He radioed air traffic control. I think that at about 15 miles, he contacted again with engine problems.”

Mr. Ferguson described his brother as an experienced pilot that flew internationally, and had clarity of mind when on the job. 

He added, “his friend that was supposed to collect him from the airport texted him a message letting him know that he needs to track the plane. So, he was aware that this plane  was  probably going to have some issues. His friend was also a pilot, so he would’ve known  what to do to track the plane.”

He also said that no one officially reached out to the family, and the Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force met with them yesterday indicating that they will be widening their perimeter of search.

However, this was after they would have made contact and agitated a Member of Parliament. 

Mr. Ferguson said,  “I also understand that he’s not the one in charge of this investigation. They have the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Deleveaux, who was in charge of this investigation; and he has never up to this day officially contacted us with any details or information to my mom and our family.” 

He added, “some of the facts that we have  not been relayed accurately to the media.”

Mr. Ferguson recalled that night, indicating that the search for his brother was called off before midnight with no divers entering the water, leaving the family with many unanswered questions.

He asked, “do you respond to a plane crash in the water without dive equipment?”

Another family member added, ”he   is an experienced pilot that would have taken all the necessary preparations that you would in  experiencing difficulties. My thing is, this isn’t the first time that there has been a plane crash or anything of this nature. The Defense Force said that they sent a unit with no divers onboard.” 

They added, “no divers responded until the very next morning. My thing is, if this was an American,  like American Airlines or Delta Airlines that would have gone  down, would they have gotten the same response where no divers were in the water with no equipment available? It sounds like incompetence to me.”

The family also indicating that the search and rescue team did not mark the plane’s exact location that night,  further delaying rescue efforts. 

The family said that they are due and deserve facts and professionalism from those responsible for conducting this search and investigation. 

They added that they will not stop until they reach a resolution.