Authorities have grounded Flamingo Air to investigate whether it is strictly adhering to safety regulations, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Devard Francis confirmed yesterday.

All of the airline's aircraft were grounded on Wednesday, two days after the boarding ladder of one of its planes deployed in flight.

The incident created widespread concerns among the public and even became the subject of social media memes in recent days.

"I can confirm that Civil Aviation Authority and the inspectorate are doing investigations," Francis said.

"Until we have completed our investigations, all the planes are grounded. We're doing safety checks and we're doing all [we can] to ensure the safety of all the public who flies this airline, and we're getting good cooperation from the airline, its proprietors; and we're hoping that we can come to a positive outcome in this."

Francis added, "We are doing investigations on all the airlines to make sure the Bahamian public is safe. We care about all in the Bahamian public, and so we are dotting our i's and crossing our t's for everyone."

Asked about the "concerning and alarming" matter of the plane door that flew open while the aircraft was flying, Francis said, "Concerning and alarming is a mild way of putting it. It was just egregious and no one wants to fly on an airline where the door is open.

"We know that mistakes happen, and we just want to ensure that all safety measures are taking place to ensure the safety of our Bahamian public."

Francis could not confirm how long the investigation will take.

"We will be completed as soon as our inspectors are sure that all safety concerns are met, and so I can't really give a timeline to it," he said.

Asked which agencies are involved in the investigation, Francis said, "Civil Aviation Authority Safety Inspectorate, and I'm sure at some point persons from the Airport Authority will be amalgamated into this, but right now as it stands, Civil Aviation Authority is at the apex of the [inspection]."

Francis said he was not at liberty to say how many planes Flamingo Air has.

"But I am at liberty to say right now that we are doing a complete inspection," he added.

Francis confirmed that the authority does receive complaints regarding other airlines.

But he said, "We're doing a complete inspection on Flamingo Air right now. They are the subject matter at hand right now."

On Monday, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority said it was investigating the matter.

The aircraft had departed Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) with 17 people onboard en route to Staniel Cay, Exuma.

Authorities said the incident took place around 8:30 a.m. and involved a Beech 99 aircraft with Bahamas registration C6-MMK.

The plane returned safely to LPIA without further incident, investigators said.

A video showing the aircraft with its boarding ladder deployed while the plane was flying over the ocean near land circulated widely on social media.

A Flamingo Air statement issued on Monday said, "We understand that your safety is our top priority. We are deeply sorry for the recent incident that caused concern among our valued passengers.

"We were just as shocked as everyone else when we saw that video of one of our aircraft's boarding ladder being deployed while in flight.

"We want you to know that we take this matter very seriously. Our dedicated management, along with our skilled mechanical crew, immediately launched an investigation to understand what went wrong."

"Upon careful inspection, we found that the reason for the ladder's deployment was a failure to properly fasten the latch. This, combined with the turbulence that all planes endure during flight, led to the ladder becoming detached."

The airline continued, "We want to emphasize that at no point was the safety of our aircraft or passengers compromised. The incident was indeed a minor issue, but we take it seriously nonetheless."

On its website, Flamingo Air says, "Located in Freeport, Grand Bahama Domestic Terminal, Marsh Harbour Abaco International Airport, Bimini International Airport, Mangrove Cay International Airport Nassau, New Providence Lynden Pindling International Airport, we fly throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean region.

"Our senior captains Raymond Meadows Sr. & Vincent Colebrooke have over 25 years of experience in this industry. Our general manager Sharon Meadows has over 20 years of experience in the customer care industry. We are committed to giving you the best flight service experience ever and we stand by our reputation of excellence."

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