Please join us for this free event geared toward pilots who want to learn more
about flying to the Bahamas. There will be information both on the procedural
aspects of your trip as well as the places to see and things to do once you’re
in the islands. If you have ever dreamed of island flying then this event will help
give you the knowledge and the confidence to make your trip safely. Mark
Griffin, FAA Examiner for the North Florida FSDO has traveled to the Bahamas
during the Christmas Holiday for several years. Learn the easy and enjoyment
to flying to the Island with an expert.
Mark Griffin has been a pilot since 1982 and instructing since 1988. He holds
ATP ratings in Airplane Single Engine Land and Multi-Engine Land aircraft.
Mark has been an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner since 1992. Past experience
also includes instruction in the American Bonanza Society and Mooney Aircraft
Safety Foundation, as well as experience in technically advanced aircraft as a
Cirrus Standardized Instructor. Mark is also a Professional Engineer registered
in Florida with over 35 years of Mechanical Engineering experience; his current
career focus is in the area of aircraft structures and vibration analysis.
"Preflighting Your Passengers for Overwater Flight." with Amy Laboda
Amy Laboda was forced to ditch her Cessna 210 in the Florida Straits shortly
after takeoff from the Key West (Fla.) International Airport (EYW). The episode
was a testimony to training, quick decision-making and the need to keep an
airplane under control. Laboda and her two daughters Rose, 10, and Leah, 9,
plus their babysitter, Kim Luebke, 15, and 31-year-old passenger Lauren
Jackson (a Caravan staffer) all escaped the ditching with physical injuries
amounting to nothing more than cuts and bruises. That cannot be said for the
airplane, however.
Laboda had just departed EYW for Grand Cayman as one of the last planes
out on the Cayman Caravan and was only about four miles offshore at 1,500
feet MSL when the event occurred. At that point and without warning, the 210's
engine suffered an as-yet-unexplained catastrophic failure, losing all power.
Laboda immediately turned the Cessna around, declared an emergency and
was able to glide the aircraft to approximately two miles off Key West before
being forced to ditch in some 30 feet of water. Despite some difficulties exiting
the airplane -- which sank quickly -- all five occupants escaped and were rescued,
within about five minutes, by a passing boat. In short order, they were transferred
to the care of the U.S. Coast Guard and then to a local hospital before being
released later that day.
