A devastating double aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane «encountered difficulties» and crashed into bushes prior to landing.

MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A ‘DEVASTATING LOSS,’ COMPANY SAYS

First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.

The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the Da Pond Band and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said «touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.»

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.

«Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,» Davis wrote in a statement on X. «We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.»

EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE

The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.

While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.

Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).

After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.

FORMER NFL QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III DESCRIBES HARROWING ENGINE FIRE ON UNITED FLIGHT

The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s air operator certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)

After the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s air operator certificate, according to MoET officials.

«The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,» the agency wrote in a statement.

The plane crashed in North Andros Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the crash site in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

La tensión entre Donald Trump y los grandes medios estadounidenses está lejos de terminar. Este sábado, el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos envió citaciones judiciales a varios periodistas de The New York Times para que declaren ante un gran jurado federal que investiga la difusión de información sobre el nuevo Air Force One que el presidente recibió como obsequio del gobierno de Qatar y que fue modernizado por la administración estadounidense.

Según informó el propio diario, agentes federales entregaron algunas de las citaciones directamente en los domicilios de los reporteros, quienes deberán presentarse la próxima semana ante un jurado investigador en Manhattan.

Entre los periodistas alcanzados por la medida se encuentran Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager y Eric Schmitt, todos especializados en temas vinculados con defensa, seguridad nacional y política exterior.

La decisión generó una fuerte reacción dentro del ámbito periodístico y fue interpretada como una nueva escalada en la confrontación que Trump mantiene desde hace años con los medios de comunicación tradicionales.

David McCraw, abogado del diario, aseguró que la situación debería generar alarma en todo el país. “La presencia de agentes federales en la puerta de la casa de los periodistas debería escandalizar a cualquier estadounidense que crea en la Constitución y en la libertad de prensa que ésta protege”, afirmó.

Desde el gobierno defendieron la investigación y aclararon que los periodistas no son el objetivo del proceso judicial. El Departamento de Justicia sostuvo que la pesquisa apunta a identificar a quienes filtraron información clasificada y remarcó que quienes tienen acceso a secretos de Estado están obligados a protegerlos.

El origen del conflicto está relacionado con una serie de publicaciones del Times que revelaron preocupaciones dentro de los organismos de seguridad estadounidenses sobre las capacidades defensivas del nuevo avión presidencial. Aunque la Casa Blanca aseguró que la aeronave cumple con los más altos estándares de protección, surgieron dudas luego de que Trump utilizara un Air Force One más antiguo para abandonar Turquía tras la cumbre de la OTAN.

El mandatario había viajado al encuentro internacional a bordo del nuevo avión, pero para el trayecto hacia la base aérea de Mildenhall, en Inglaterra, optó por regresar en una de las aeronaves históricas de la flota presidencial. El aparato más moderno voló por separado y recién fue utilizado nuevamente para el regreso a Estados Unidos.

La decisión despertó especulaciones porque coincidió con un momento de extrema tensión en Medio Oriente, tras la ruptura del alto el fuego entre Irán y Estados Unidos y el intercambio de ataques en la región. Turquía comparte frontera con Irán y, según las versiones publicadas por el diario neoyorquino, el Servicio Secreto habría recomendado el cambio debido a que el nuevo avión todavía no contaría con algunos sistemas avanzados de defensa, entre ellos capacidades antimisiles presentes en las aeronaves más antiguas.

Trump rechazó esa interpretación y aseguró que el cambio respondió a motivos logísticos y protocolares. Además, insistió en que el nuevo Air Force One es completamente seguro.

Leé también: Escala la tensión en Medio Oriente: tras la amenaza de Trump, el líder supremo de Irán prometió vengar la muerte de su padre

La Casa Blanca reforzó posteriormente esa postura mediante un comunicado del portavoz Steven Cheung, quien describió al avión como “una aeronave de última generación” equipada con protocolos de seguridad de alto nivel. También sostuvo que la administración utiliza mecanismos de “distracción y desorientación” como parte de las estrategias destinadas a proteger al presidente frente a amenazas externas.

Las citaciones contra los periodistas del Times se suman a otras medidas similares adoptadas este año contra reporteros de The Washington Post y The Wall Street Journal, aunque en esos casos las órdenes finalmente fueron retiradas.

A bipartisan housing bill became law Saturday at midnight after President Donald Trump declined to sign it, capping a weeks-long saga over whether the president would veto the measure amid frustrations with Congress over his stalled agenda.

Trump refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — legislation aimed at expanding the nation’s housing stock and lowering costs — in an attempt to pressure Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, despite the housing bill clearing both chambers with overwhelming majorities.

«I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, which is polling at 97% with the Republican Party, and very high with the non-politician Dumocrats,» he declared on Truth Social Friday morning. 

The Trump-backed election measure, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and impose voter ID requirements, has struggled to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. 

Meanwhile, the House has not passed a version of the bill that includes the president’s proposed crackdown on mail-in voting and banning men from women’s sports.

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES DERAIL GOP AGENDA IN SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWDOWN

Under the U.S. Constitution, Trump had 10 days, not including Sundays, to sign or veto the housing measure after the House formally transmitted the legislation to the White House in late June. The president ultimately chose neither option, allowing the measure to become law without his signature.

Though Trump declined to veto the legislation, he sharply criticized elements of the bill and argued it should not have been a legislative priority in recent weeks.

«It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in late June. «I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.»

Trump went on to call the housing bill «a yawn,» adding, «compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.»

It would have taken a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto — a margin the House and Senate exceeded when they passed the legislation. However, it remains unclear whether so many Republicans would have defied the president had he vetoed the bill.

Trump also appeared to criticize the bill over a provision restricting Wall Street investors from purchasing single-family homes — a policy he first proposed during his January State of the Union address and later urged Congress to pass. Trump previously argued the investor ban would give individual homebuyers a leg up against private equity firms in the housing market.

«I don’t want to hurt people that own houses, too,» Trump later told reporters, appearing to reference the provision. «These people, for the first time in their lives, they have valuable houses. They’ve become rich. I don’t want to hurt them either. What you want to do is what’s good for everyone, get the interest rates down.»

The law also aims to boost housing supply by streamlining federal environmental reviews, loosening rules around the construction of factory-built homes, and incentivizing local governments to modify their zoning laws to allow more housing, among roughly 60 provisions.

Trump’s souring on the legislation created headaches for Republicans, who touted the bill as an affordability win as voters grapple with high housing costs.

«It’s irresponsible to postpone signing the Housing bill due to the SAVE Act,» Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a retiring lawmaker who lost re-election to a Trump-backed challenger, wrote on social media. «We need to start delivering relief to people for the high cost of housing ASAP!!»

Construction workers stand on the roof of homes under construction at a new housing development on June 24, 2026, in Valencia, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

WARREN TELLS TRUMP TO ‘SIGN THE DAMN BILL’ AS BIPARTISAN HOUSING PACKAGE REMAINS STALLED IN WASHINGTON

Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation at the U.S. Capitol in June with GOP leaders. The stage had already been set, with at least one senior Republican arriving unaware the president had called off the event shortly before it was scheduled to begin.

The president then declared he would not sign the legislation until Congress passed the SAVE America Act, despite Senate GOP leaders insisting the votes do not exist to advance the measure.

Trump has also expressed frustration with the Republican-controlled Senate for declining to weaken the legislative filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the upper chamber.

«GET SMART REPUBLICANS, IF YOU DON’T, YOU WON’T BE IN OFFICE FOR LONG!» Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Before Trump came out against the bill, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called it «one of the most significant pieces of housing affordability legislation in American history» and said it included an array of policies «long championed» by Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 15, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump political operative James Blair touted the legislation for including the president’s Wall Street investor ban, which he referred to as a «signature commitment.»

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has argued that Republicans will still promote the landmark housing bill ahead of November.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

«We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively,» the speaker recently told reporters, referring to Trump. «And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.»