A member of Parliament caused a US Air flight to abort its scheduled course and return to Nassau International Airport after he failed to follow correct security procedures, it was revealed yesterday.
The flight bound for Washington was forced to land back in the Bahamas after it was discovered that Marathon MP Ron Pinder had failed to pass through pre-flight clearance and US Customs.
Neko Grant, MP for Lucaya, raised the issue in the House of Assembly yesterday when he asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, if he was aware that Ron Pinder, the Parliamentary Health Secretary in the Ministry of Health, breached security at NIA.
However Mr. Mitchell said that he would not describe it as a breach in security but a “miscommunication on what the protocol is for Members of Parliament accessing the tarmac” at NIA.
Chief Political, Economical and Public Relations officer for the US Embassy Mike Taylor would not officially say that Mr. Pinder had caused the plane to be turned around but said that an incident ocurred involving a “passenger”.
“My understnading that a passenger entered the plane and the plane took off and it was only while they were in the air that they discovered that a passengerwho had not go through the proper security clearance, the plane was forced to turn around and land, becasue they would not have been allowed to landat a US airport with a discrepancy between the number of passengers processed for the flight and the number of passengers actually on board,” he explained.
Source: Rupert Missick, The Tribune
