What happened
On October 18, 2019, at roughly 4:30 PM local time, a Douglas DC-3C, registered as N437GB, was operating near the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas. While approximately 25 to 30 nautical miles from the airport, the pilot experienced a failure of the left engine. Due to degraded performance while operating on a single engine, the crew determined that the aircraft could not safely complete the approach to the runway.
Prior to the incident, the crew notified Air Traffic Control of their intention to perform a controlled water landing. The aircraft subsequently entered the ocean at coordinates 25°05.55N 077°30.29W, which is situated about 2.87 miles from Runway 14. Following the ditching, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force was alerted, and rescue operations were initiated. Although the aircraft could not be recovered for a physical inspection, both occupants on board survived the event with no injuries.
Findings
An investigation into the event determined that the primary factor was the failure of the left engine. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were within visual meteorological limits and were not considered a contributing factor to the emergency.