Air Florida Express grounded by FAA over safety violations
Posted November 26 2003

Air Florida Express, a charter firm that flies from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas, has been ordered to cease operations after being accused of falsifying weight and balance forms and failing to have enough flotation devices for each passenger, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday.

The company, based on the north side of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, is appealing to have its air carrier certificate reinstated.

The company's certificate was revoked last month after a flight from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale on June 17 in a single-engine Cessna 208 Caravan, the FAA said.

Although 10 passengers were on board, weight forms indicated only eight passengers, the FAA said. One of those passengers was seated in the front right seat, next to the pilot, which is not allowed in a Cessna 208 unless only eight passengers are on board, the FAA said.

Further, the FAA said, the pilot, P.J. Khan, the principal owner of Air Florida Express, conducted the flight without completing a required annual proficiency check of his skills.

Khan could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Air Florida Express is also known as Air Florida, the FAA said. On Tuesday, Air Florida employees said the company continues to fly using the planes of a separate company, Aero Leasing, but declined to elaborate.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said she didn't know the relationship between Air Florida Express and Aero Leasing, but noted, "As stated in our emergency revocation order, Air Florida Express should not be flying."

Air Florida Express appealed to the National Transportation Safety Board, which will hear the company's case next month.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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Air Sunshine may be barred from Bahamas flights
By Ken Kaye -- Staff Writer

As published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel -- http://www.sun-sentinel.com

Posted July 22 2003
Earlier article posted July 19 2003

Whether Air Sunshine will be allowed to continue flying to the Bahamas hung in the balance on Monday night, as government officials there weighed the company's appeal to allow flights to resume.

Bahamian officials had notified Air Sunshine that it would have to cease flights to the island nation as of noon Monday, after a plane crash near Treasure Cay on July 13 that killed two.

On Monday, company officials pleaded with the Bahamian Ministry of Transport Aviation to lift the suspension of their operating permit, saying they were not given due process and that the cause of the accident is unknown.

Bahamian officials were expected to make their decision by today.

Until a clear decree is made to lift the suspension, initially imposed Thursday, Air Sunshine must stop flying to their nation, Bahamian aviation officials said.

"Presently we have allowed them to fly in to pick up all their passengers who might be stranded," Pat Rolle, manager of the Bahamian flight standards office, said late Monday afternoon.

As of noon Monday, Air Sunshine placed its passengers on other carriers. However, it also booked passengers on its flights to the Bahamas today, even though it wasn't known whether the travelers would go on Air Sunshine planes or those of other carriers.
"As I understand it, we haven't flown since noon and don't intend to, unless the Bahamians relax the suspension," said David McDonald Sr., the company's attorney.

Flights to the Bahamas make up about 40 percent of Air Sunshine's business, officials said. The company also flies to Sarasota, Puerto Rico and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Air Sunshine came under scrutiny by the Bahamian government after a 10-seat twin-engine Cessna 402Cs took off from Fort Lauderdale last week and crashed six miles from Treasure Cay, its destination. Two people were killed and eight survived, including the pilot.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which was asked to head up the investigation, on Monday released its preliminary report into the accident, providing some new details.

The plane, designated as Flight 502, first experienced trouble 20 miles west of the Treasure Cay airport, while at 3,500 feet. The pilot heard a pop and saw parts burst out of the right engine housing, the report said.

The pilot, Hassan Moslemi, gave the left engine full power. At the time, the landing gear and flaps were retracted, which should have helped the plane maintain altitude; when hanging down, landing gear and flaps create drag.

Still, the Cessna descended at a rate of 200 to 300 feet per minute for about five miles. Then, just before the plane plowed into the ocean, Moslemi raised the nose up.

The plane skipped over the waves and came to rest. Moslemi escaped through the pilot side window, then from outside the plane opened the main entrance door. About five passengers escaped through that door, and four through another window.

"All the passengers were evacuated from the airplane before it sank," safety board investigator Al Yurman wrote in the report.

Diane Parker Diaz and her 3-year-old niece, Dante Parker, both of Jacksonville, apparently drowned after escaping from the plane, authorities said.

The survivors, including three children, remained in the water for about two hours before being rescued by U.S. Coast Guard helicopters.

Because of high winds creating rough seas, salvage crews have been unable to raise the plane from about 30 feet of water and are waiting for a break in the weather, Yurman said.

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Posted July 19 2003

Following a crash that killed two last Sunday, the Bahamian government on Thursday suspended Air Sunshine's operating certificate, which would have dealt a severe blow to the small charter company's business.

But Friday, airline officials bitterly appealed, saying they had been denied due process or a clear explanation for the suspension. As a result, Air Sunshine will be allowed to continue flying to the Bahamas, at least through Monday.

At that time, the airline's attorneys will argue before the Bahamian Ministry of Transport Aviation that the charter airline should be allowed to continue normal operations, at least until the investigation into the crash is completed, a process that usually takes more than a year.

Anthony Dean, chief operations officer for the Bahamian Ministry of Transport Aviation, said the initial decision was based on safety concerns but did not elaborate.

"Our flight safety standards group made a recommendation," he said Friday. Since it started flying in 1982, Air Sunshine has suffered three fatal accidents, killing six people. Since 1987, its planes have been involved in nine accidents or mishaps. If the Bahamian government permanently revokes the small charter airline's privileges, Air Sunshine would have to cancel about five flights per day.

After taking off from Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, the right engine of an Air Sunshine Cessna 402C blew apart, forcing the plane to ditch in the ocean about six miles short of its destination, Treasure Cay, authorities said.