Tony’s Short Stories: A Forced Landing in the Bahamas

As a kid, I spent many hours flying in my father’s Cessna 310, but the most memorable trip was to the Bahamas in the early 1970s. We developed an oil pressure issue and had to land at the North Bimini Airport. After determining that a loose oil drain plug was the issue, my father decided it was best to return to the airport in Pompano Beach, Florida, for repairs.
But as we were getting ready to take off, the latch to the passenger door broke. Luckily, we traveled with a close family friend and later my brother-in-law, Greg Zagon. He devised an ingenious idea by using a piece of a wooden broom handle to hold the door closed, which he held onto the entire flight back to Pompano. It wasn’t the most enjoyable flight, with the air rushing past the unsealed door, but we made it back safely, less maybe our ringing ears and Greg’s sore hands.
When I stumbled upon this article about a similar issue flying in the Bahamas, I felt an instant connection and knew I had to share it with you. It’s like our own little aviation adventure, isn’t it?
“A Forced Landing in the Bahamas” recounts a dramatic and gripping real-life adventure experienced by Gordon Bazely, an artist and adventurer, and Captain Arthur Holland, a seasoned Royal Air Force pilot. Set against the stunning yet perilous backdrop of the Bahamian islands, the story captures the landscape’s raw beauty and the sea’s unforgiving nature. In a time when aviation was still developing, Bazely’s account reflects the danger, excitement, and resourcefulness required of early air travel. Initially published in Popular Aviation in January 1929, this narrative provides readers with a thrilling, firsthand look at the challenges faced during a stormy flight and the remarkable survival that followed.