Plane with 4 family members missing off Bahamas

A small private plane carrying four family members went missing on Monday, September 7, 2026, off the coast of Andros Island in the Bahamas, prompting a joint search and rescue operation by Bahamian authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard. The aircraft, a Piper PA34, departed from Great Harbour Cay and was en route to Miami Executive Airport in Florida when contact was lost. The missing individuals have been identified as pilot Mario Lamar, 80, his wife Lili Lamar, 79, and their two grandchildren, Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22. The family had been vacationing in the Bahamas and were returning home. According to Silvia Larrieu, a niece of Mario and Lili Lamar, the family had spent the Labor Day weekend at their home in Great Harbour Cay. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft around 11 a.m. on Monday. Flight tracking data indicated an erratic flight pattern, with the plane's speed fluctuating and its altitude dropping significantly from approximately 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet in three minutes before vanishing from radar. Tracking also showed the plane's path looping in a circle. Bahamian authorities received a report of the downed aircraft around 2 p.m.