Authorities have suspended the search for a small aircraft carrying four Florida family members after it disappeared over Bahamas waters on Sept. 7, according to reports from The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. The missing individuals are Mario Lamar, 80; his wife Lili Lamar, 79; and their grandchildren Sofia Sosa, 28, and Christian Sosa, 22. The group was traveling in a PA-34 Piper five-seater aircraft on its return flight from the Bahamas to Florida following a Labor Day weekend trip.
Radar Data Reveals Erratic Flight Patterns
Relatives became concerned hours after the expected landing time at Miami Executive Airport when Sofia Sosa’s group text messages failed to go through. Family members tracked the aircraft using FlightAware, which displayed significant anomalies in its flight path. Radar data indicated that the plane's speed fluctuated rapidly and experienced a substantial drop in altitude, confirmed by CNN.
Specifically, the aircraft descended from approximately 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet within three minutes. The tracking software also showed the plane looping in circles before contact was lost. Bahamian police confirmed that air traffic control lost communication with the aircraft when it was located about 13 miles west of Andros Island, as we reported in Four Florida Family Members Found Dead After Small Plane Crashes Off Bahamas.
Coast Guard Assistance and Weather Challenges
The U.S. Coast Guard is assisting in the search efforts, coordinating with local authorities to locate the missing plane. A spokesperson for the service stated that Southeast District command center watchstanders coordinated the launch of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to aid Bahamian officials, a story we covered in Florida Parents Arrested in Georgia After Missing Child Found.
Despite these international cooperation efforts, the rescue operation was suspended due to rough weather conditions in the region. The suspension highlights the challenges faced by maritime and aerial search teams when environmental factors impede visibility and safe flight operations during critical recovery missions.
