Bahamas Plane Crash: 9 Killed, Including Prominent Pastor, Crash Due To Severe Weather?

The Bahamas plane crash Sunday near Freeport killed a total of nine people, according to authorities. Occurring on the island of Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Perry Christie said Monday that the Bahamas plane crash was likely to have happened due to severe weather.

According to police, the The Lear 36 Executive Jet struck a shipping container crane at the Freeport Ship Yard while a torrential downpour lashed across the region. The jet was reportedly trying to land around 5 p.m., according to Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell.

The plane eventually crashed in a nearby junk yard, reported USA Today.

Passengers who died in the Bahamas plane crash over the weekend included a prominent Christian minister and his wife. Police have not yet released the names of the victims, but the identity of the pastor who died is Myles Munroe. His wife's name was Ruth.

Munroe was reportedly the senior pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International Fellowship, according to their website. Ruth also served as co-pastor in their group, according to CNN.

A popular 60-year-old televangelist, author and motivational speaker, Munroe was the president and founder of Bahamas Faith Ministries International. At the time of the Bahamas plane crash, he was on his way to the Grand Bahama to attend the 2014 Global Leadership Forum that the minister organized, said Christie.

Several members of the minister's entourage were also among those who were killed in the Bahamas plane crash.

Apparently, a commercial Bahamas air flight on the same route, from Nassau to Freeport, turned back because it was unable to land, Mitchell said.

Munroe was reportedly planning to have dinner in Freeport 90 minutes after his plane's scheduled landing with former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, who is a speaker at the event, said Mitchell.

Munroe, a native in the Bahamas and who grew up less fortunate than his counterparts, was reportedly considered an inspiration by many in the island, and even abroad.

"He has really put his name on the world stage and helped the Bahamas achieve recognition for talent," said Mitchell.

By Monday, civil aviation authorities launched an investigation into the Bahamas plane crash. No U.S. agencies are involved in the Bahamas plane crash probe, but the Royal Bahamas Police Force is handling it, according to a police spokesman.

Munroe's death in the Bahamas plane crash has stunned the entire country, reports the Associated Press.

"It is utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr. Munroe's loss to the Bahamas and to the world," said Prime Minister Perry Christie. "He was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures our nation has ever produced."

News of the Bahamas plane crash tragedy quickly spread, and Munroe's supporters went to the crash site by the hundreds in order to light candles and pray for the deaths, according to the Bahamas Tribune.

"At times like these, I don't try to figure things out, I just know that all things ultimately figure into a larger and higher purpose that we may never fully understand in this present limited reality," said Bishop Carlton Pearson on his Facebook page. Pearson is reportedly a high-profile U.S. minister and a friend of Munroe's for 40 years.

The deceased couple from the Bahamas plane crash were also friends to former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young. Young was reportedly scheduled to arrive in Freeport as well, however, as luck may have it, a spokesperson, said the former official felt "guided by the spirit" not to get on board, WXIA-TV in Atlanta reports.

A statement was released on the Andrew J. Young Foundation Facebook page showing Young's devastation of the Bahamas plane crash.

"Ambassador Young expresses his deep sadness over the tragic death of his friends Dr. Myles and Mrs. Ruth Munroe. He offers condolences to the Munroe family and the families of the other souls who lost their lives as a result of this shocking plane crash," the statement said.

Young will still be speak at a conference starting Monday in Freeport. The Global Leadership Forum will also continue this week, said to Munroe's organization.

"On behalf of Myles Munroe International and ITWLA. We would like to inform you that the Global Leadership Forum will continue," Myles Munroe International posted on its Facebook page. "This is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted."

The ITWLA is International Third World Leaders Association, which was founded by Munroe.

The Bahamas plane crash occurred in the Grand Bahama is about 70 miles east of Florida.