Tragic End for Florida Family in Plane Crash
A relative confirmed on Tuesday that four family members from Florida have been found dead after their plane went down in the ocean near the Bahamas.
Authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, had been searching for a plane believed to have “crash-landed” off the coast after departing from Great Harbour Cay on Monday.
The victims were identified as 80-year-old pilot Mario Lamar, his wife Lili, 79, and their two grandchildren, 28-year-old Sofia Sosa and 22-year-old Christian Sosa. They were flying on a PA-34 Piper five-seater en route to Opa-locka, Florida.
Silvia Larrieu, Mario Lamar’s niece, expressed her profound sadness in a statement, saying, “It is with profound sadness that we confirm all four of our family members have been found deceased. The search and recovery mission was conducted alongside family members and civilians who answered our call for help. Our relatives ultimately located our loved ones and had to bring them aboard their own vessels.”
She added, “We are now in communication and working with the U.S. Coast Guard to bring our loved ones home safely and with dignity. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us, searched alongside us, and kept our family in their prayers. We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn this unimaginable loss.”
Larrieu also mentioned to the Miami Herald that the family was returning home after visiting a vacation property over the holiday weekend, emphasizing how they had spent their whole lives going there.
According to data from FlightAware, the plane descended rapidly from 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet within about three minutes before it disappeared from radar. She noted that Lamar was an experienced pilot and always maintained his aircraft in “pristine” condition.
The U.S. Coast Guard Southeast reported on Monday that it was assisting Bahamian authorities following reports of a downed aircraft “with four souls on board approximately 15 miles off Andros Island.” They deployed a HC-144 Ocean Sentry plane for the search efforts.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force received a report around 2:20 p.m. regarding an aircraft that might have gone down in the waters off Red Bays. They confirmed that a PA-34 Piper aircraft, with tail number N212ML, left Great Harbour Cay at approximately 11:12 a.m., heading for Opa-locka, Florida. However, air traffic control lost contact with it around 13 miles west of Andros Island.
Authorities from the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) added that the U.S. Coast Guard had attempted to search for the missing aircraft, but bad weather forced a postponement until conditions improved.
