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So happy to hear that all are safe and doing well. This has been a regular feature of the Roatan landscape for years and it's unfortunate such a bad accident occured.
This plane was operated by Bay Island Airways. I posted the following last July on another thread:
"The airplane BIA uses is a Lockwood AirCam, a twin-engine experimental home built aircraft.
There is a fair amount of info about the AirCam on the web including youtube videos on how it is built.
In the U.S., the FAA does not allow the carriage of paying passengers in an experimental homebuilt airplane and if somehow BIA has managed to obtain certification in some other country for the little craft, you can bet the proce$$ did not follow the rigorous testing and analysis required for certification with the FAA."
Writing in my Sunday morning paper today (01/22/12), travel writer Arthur Frommer concluded his article with the following paragraph which certainly applies to BIA:
"Don't place your life in the hands of individuals desparate to make a living by providing death-defying adventures to tourists."
We've done the Bay Airways tour before, did it about 2 years ago on our off gas last day of the vacation, it was incredible to get a birds-eye view of roatan moving low and slow, you can see sharks and rays in the water below you.
Originally Posted by hypersonic
This plane was operated by Bay Island Airways. I posted the following last July on another thread:
"The airplane BIA uses is a Lockwood AirCam, a twin-engine experimental home built aircraft.
There is a fair amount of info about the AirCam on the web including youtube videos on how it is built.
In the U.S., the FAA does not allow the carriage of paying passengers in an experimental homebuilt airplane and if somehow BIA has managed to obtain certification in some other country for the little craft, you can bet the proce$$ did not follow the rigorous testing and analysis required for certification with the FAA."
By the way, I'm pretty sure Roatan is part of Honduras and not the United States, but maybe I've got that wrong.
Originally Posted by hypersonic
"Don't place your life in the hands of individuals desparate to make a living by providing death-defying adventures to tourists."
You mean like shark dives in the Bahamas, zip lines in Roatan and Mexico, climbing waterfalls in Jamaica, hang gliding in New Zealand, viewing lava at night in Hawaii, scuba diving in general anywhere, swimming with sting rays in Grand Cayman, ATV rides in Cabo, dune buggy rides in Mexico, cave tours in, para-sailing, swinging from ropes into the water, trampolines in the water anywhere... anything else, what about eating food at restaurants outside the United States, do you risk that with no US health authorities doing inspections or do you pack your own food for the trip?
A little less than a year ago a commercial flight crashed and killed 14 people in Honduras. life is fragile and fleeting, you can sit at home and die from saturated fats and cholesterol or you can go out and see the world, they both have inherent risks. But I'd hope that anybody who ventures outside the United States realizes that all our government agencies rules and regulations aren't following you. Even going on something as benign as a cruise ship means you've left the protections of the United States laws behind you. Some Italian captain can kill you, just like unfortunately happened to the couple from Minnesota on the Concordia.
Last edited by Mike; January 22nd, 2012 at 06:35 PM.
By the way, I'm pretty sure Roatan is part of Honduras and not the United States, but maybe I've got that wrong.
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Your correct so one must wonder if the plane was certified for commercial use through the DGAC (Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil ) the Honduran department regulating such things, if not and it was being used for such then what will the insurance company think about it? We must also wonder, If those flying on it would bring a toddler on a plane, so three passengers on one pushing it with two, knowing it was experimental homebuilt that was not required to meet safety standards as they are likely used to.
I have and would have tried the flight if I were not such a cheapskate and everything may have been perfectly in order yet it is odd the BIA website was taken down almost immediately, no future plans, no statements, nada.
Hopefully everyone involved, crew, passengers, owners will all be covered for expenses and they may start up again in the future , time will tell.
You were the guy in the last thread who wrote..."plus it's got pontoons, what could go wrong? "
If you or any other person wants to partake in this activity, go for it. But keep in mind these are guys from the U.S. running this operation doing what they damn well can't do stateside and they are not up front about the fact the airplane is a homebuilt.
You mentioned in the previous thread you took one of their flights and I asked you:
Just out of curiosity, when you took your $400 ride in this fragile little craft, did the pilot or anyone tell you you would be flying in a homebuilt aircraft?
Did they tell you they operate in Roatan because there aren't many (if any other) aviation jurisdictions in the world that would permit using a homebuilt for charter flights?
Did you see a sign on the side of the fuselage in 2" high letters saying "EXPERIMENTAL" as would be required for this airplane in the U.S.?
Did you see a placard in front of your seat that read "Passenger Warning: This aircraft is amateur built and does not comply with Federal safety regulations for standard aircraft" as would be required for this airplane in the U.S.?
And BTW, FAA certified twin engine airplanes can fly on one engine...pontoons not required. This operation was an accident waiting to happen.
As far as risk, I have had my share of adventures in nearly 50 years of travel in over 40 countries, many as crew on a corporate jet. And yes, I felt and still feel that loss of civil rights every time I leave the country.
Civil rights? Say what? Where the heck did that come from? LOL
As for all your questions, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think you're having a hard time understanding that Roatan is part of Honduras and not the United States. Correct me if I'm wrong, and feel free to verify this for yourself and let us know.
Anyways, didn't you get this all out of your system on the Trip Advisor forums?
Every other post from you over there is buzz killing everybody who asks about anything fun to do in Roatan. They beat you like a red headed step child on this same topic over there, so you figured you'd start over again here?
Some of us just don't look at something like this as an adventure, sorry
Last edited by Mike; January 22nd, 2012 at 08:48 PM.
... life is fragile and fleeting, you can sit at home and die from saturated fats and cholesterol or you can go out and see the world, they both have inherent risks. But I'd hope that anybody who ventures outside the United States realizes that all our government agencies rules and regulations aren't following you.
Let's hope he doesn't hear about the submarine tour.
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Originally Posted by hypersonic
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This is weird -> 
