What happened
On October 22, 2004, at approximately 13:28 EDT, a Beechcraft 1900C, registration N79YV, was involved in a ditching accident near the Bahamas. The aircraft, which was operated by Southern Air Charter Limited, was performing a scheduled domestic commuter flight from Arthur’s Town, Cat Island, toward Nassau International Airport.
During the flight, the aircraft went down in water measuring roughly four feet in depth, located about 82 yards from the southern coast of New Providence Island. The incident took place approximately 6.98 nautical miles southeast of the Nassau International Airport. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were within visual meteorological limits, and the flight was operating under an active outbound visual flight plan.
There were ten individuals on board the aircraft, consisting of a crew of two and eight passengers. Despite the aircraft sustaining substantial damage during the impact with the water, there were no fatalities or serious injuries reported among the occupants.
Findings
Investigations into the event involved the NTSB and the FAA, as the aircraft was registered in the United States and maintained under an approved FAA maintenance program. The United States, as the state of manufacture for both the airframe and engines, was also notified to participate in the inquiry.