Surviving members of the beloved Bahamian musical group Da Pond Band are grappling with profound grief and shock following a tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of five of their bandmates. The small aircraft, operated by Flamingo Air, went down in the Bahamas on Friday, resulting in the deaths of all 10 people on board.
Shenia Roberts, a vocalist for Da Pond Band, had arrived on Andros Island earlier that day and was waiting for the rest of the group to join her. She described the victims as her close friends and confidants, noting that she spoke with them regularly. Roberts had traveled from Nassau on the same plane and with the same pilot at approximately 7 a.m. that morning. While she observed that the aircraft appeared to be an old plane, she reported that her own flight proceeded without any issues.
The band members who lost their lives in the crash have been identified by the group as Giovanni McKenzie, Mateo Winder, Rashad Storr, Tonique Gilot, and Travis Johnson. Additionally, the band confirmed that Melvin Henfield, widely known as DJ Fresh, was also among those on the flight. Beyond the performers, three other passengers were on board, though their identities have not yet been released by officials.
Anasthasia Rolle, who spoke with reporters, stated she believes her 16-year-old son, Nicholas Oliver Jr., was among the victims. According to Rolle, her son was added to the flight at the last minute. He had originally planned to take a ferry with his father to visit family and attend a festival, but they arrived too late for the boat. His father then took him to the airport in hopes of securing a seat on a flight. As hours passed and planes continued to arrive in San Andros without her son, Rolle said she eventually came to the painful realization that he had been on the ill-fated flight.
The circumstances leading up to the departure have raised questions. According to Roberts, who was in contact with band leader Giovanni McKenzie via WhatsApp, the pilot waited on the tarmac for two hours to fill additional seats. A screenshot of the text exchange obtained by reporters shows McKenzie writing at 12:01 p.m. that the pilot was waiting around for more people to fill up the plane. While Roberts emphasized that the flight was intended to be a charter exclusive to the performers, a Bahamian aviation source noted that it is common practice in the region to wait for a full load if the client is paying per seat rather than chartering the entire aircraft.
The flight finally departed at approximately 12:30 p.m. and crashed in a wooded area near the airport just 18 minutes later. Bahamian investigators are currently working to determine the cause of the disaster. In the wake of the tragedy, Flamingo Air has suspended all operations. This decision followed two emergency incidents involving the airline on the same day, including a separate event where another plane caught fire after landing in Nassau, though that incident resulted in no casualties. When reached by phone for comment regarding the fatal crash, the owner of Flamingo Air stated he had no comment.
Shaniese Miller, another surviving member of Da Pond Band, expressed her disbelief, describing the victims as family. She had last seen the group the previous Friday during their weekly performance in Nassau, which she described as a premier destination for both locals and international visitors. She recalled that the band members were in high spirits and excited about their upcoming trip to Andros.
