Surviving members of the beloved Bahamian musical group Da Pond Band are speaking out following the tragic loss of five bandmates and a DJ who were killed when a small plane crashed in the Bahamas on Friday, July 13, 2026. All 10 people on board the aircraft perished in the incident.
Shenia Roberts, a vocalist for Da Pond Band, was already on Andros Island awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group when the crash occurred. She described the profound shock and disbelief, stating, "They were the people that I talked to in the morning, in the night. They were my friends, my confidants. And I was waiting on them." Roberts had flown to Andros earlier that morning on the same plane, piloted by the same individual, reporting no issues despite noting that the aircraft appeared old.
Shaniese Miller, another surviving band member, echoed Roberts' sentiments, expressing her devastation. "I'm still shocked that they're gone. I can't believe it," Miller said. "They're my family and I never expected that to happen." She last saw the deceased band members the previous Friday at their popular weekly performance in Nassau, a venue known as "the hottest spot" drawing locals and international visitors alike.
The band members who died have been identified by Da Pond Band as Giovanni McKenzie, Mateo Winder, Rashad Storr, Tonique Gilot, and Travis Johnson. Melvin Henfield, also known as DJ Fresh, was also on the flight. Three other passengers, who were not performers, were on board and their identities have not yet been released by officials.
Anasthasia Rolle believes her 16-year-old son, Nicholas Oliver Jr., was among the victims. She recounted how her son was added to the flight at the last minute after missing an earlier ferry with his father. "The question was, where is Nicholas? Did he disappear? As the time passed, I had to come to realization that my son was definitely on that plane," Rolle stated.
Roberts revealed that the pilot of the flight waited on the tarmac for two hours after the scheduled departure time to fill more seats. She was in communication with Giovanni McKenzie, one of the band leaders who died, who confirmed the delay. "He told me that they were getting ready to leave, I reached out and I asked him, so why are you taking so long? What happened? He said the pilot … He's trying to find other people to fill the plane up," Roberts recounted. A screenshot of a WhatsApp exchange showed McKenzie writing at 12:01 p.m. on Friday that the pilot was "waiting round for more people to full up the plane."
A Bahamian aviation source familiar with the situation explained that waiting to fill seats before departure can be a common practice in the Bahamas when clients pay per seat, rather than chartering the entire plane. However, Roberts insisted that the flight was intended to be a charter exclusive to the performers for a festival, stating, "That should have not been the situation, because it was a chartered plane."
Bahamian investigators are currently examining the cause of the crash. Following two emergency incidents on the same day, the airline suspended all flights. Earlier on Friday, another plane caught fire after landing in Nassau, though no injuries were reported in that incident.
The flight, which departed around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, crashed in a wooded area near the airport just 18 minutes later. The owner of the airline declined to provide any statement when contacted by phone.
