Bahamasair has fired an experienced captain who had been at the airline for 12 years, following a series of incidents in recent weeks. What a mess…
In this post:
Bahamasair pilot can’t seem to stay out of trouble
On August 25, 2025, a senior Bahamasair captain was called in over concerns of how he was managing aircraft and crews, and was told he needed to make certain changes to continue flying at the airline. The details of what exactly those issues were isn’t known, but that leads us to the next issue…
This same pilot was the captain of an August 31 Bahamasair flight from Nassau (NAS) to Marsh Harbour (MHH). Specifically, the flight was operated by an ATR 72-600 with the registration code C6-BFR.
Following the short 30-minute flight, the first officer reportedly refused to continue flying with the captain, after he was reported to have been vaping in the flight deck. She alerted the company’s operations control center, citing flight deck dynamics and safety concerns. The airline immediately pulled both pilots from duty, and dispatched a replacement crew.
Obviously this was a major issue for the captain, since he had been called in less than a week earlier. The plan was for him to have a debrief the day after the latest incident, but before that could even happen, the airline received two voice notes from the captain, threatening other pilots who had reported his alleged misconduct.
In these voice notes, he accused the airline of running a slack operation, claiming that first officers use their cell phones during flights, and move the aircraft without notifying him. The airline described these voice notes as being inappropriate, and inconsistent with professional standards.
Bahamasair is a “little disappointed” in this captain
In response to this incident, here’s what Bahamasair’s Managing Director, Tracey Cooper, had to say:
“He was not the norm at Bahamasair. Every now and then, you would have somebody who’s an outlier, and because that person is not conforming, it doesn’t mean that everybody is not conforming. Rather than take our advisement to him, he responded in the way that he did.”
“The voice messages kind of actually showed where Bahamasair was doing its part in that we were reinforcing what our standards were to that captain in question. Again, I would just like to say that we were a little disappointed that he did not take it in the way that we intended it to be. As per industry standards, smoking, vaping is not allowed in the aeroplane. You have sensitive equipment, and you also have the health of the passengers and the rest of the crew as well.”
I’ve gotta say, this is one of the politer things I’ve heard an airline executive say about such misconduct. The airline is a “little disappointed” about his actions?!
Bottom line
A Bahamasair captain has been fired after a first officer reported him for vaping. That wouldn’t have been career ending, except for the fact that he had already been given a warning by management less than a week earlier, and then he responded to the vaping accusations by threatening the pilots who reported him.
One certainly wonders how many other incidents occurred over the course of this captain’s career, because I can’t imagine this kind of behavior is an isolated incident.
What do you make of this Bahamasair captain drama?
Years ago we had a 747-100 copilot that would smoke under the old roof sextant mount. Pop it open to get rid of the smoke.
Threatening those who report misbehavior is considered retaliation in any organization (though it's usually directed at the management of an origination, and not line staff), and very few organizations will allow themselves to be perceived as allowing such behavior.
In effect, the captain asked to be sacked, and his wish was granted.
The Bahamas are not necessarily known for their strict labor laws (particularly regarding cruise lines with vessels flagged there). However, the airline being owned by the government really did leave no choice. I definitely don’t want a loose cannon hothead captain in control of my flight. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out - nobody wants to clean ass prints off the door.
"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out - nobody wants to clean ass prints off the door."
I love your posts. By stealing them, I appear much more amusing than I really am on other boards! :) :) :)
I don't know anything about Bahamasair maintenance and flight ops, but they do run a slack operation in customer relations. After they tore the wheel off my checked bag last winter and I filed a claim, it was months before I heard from them at all. Then they requested a ridiculous amount of data about the bag and flight, including re-requesting the data I had already given them with the claim.
It was a...
I don't know anything about Bahamasair maintenance and flight ops, but they do run a slack operation in customer relations. After they tore the wheel off my checked bag last winter and I filed a claim, it was months before I heard from them at all. Then they requested a ridiculous amount of data about the bag and flight, including re-requesting the data I had already given them with the claim.
It was a cheap bag so I gave up, but it left me wondering about all aspects of that airline.
Hats off to First Officer Blunt.
@ Miracle Over the Mojave -- Hah, well played!
HA!