The daughter of an American pilot is not giving up hope after her father disappeared while flying to North Eleuthera, Bahamas from Florida nearly two weeks ago.
Though the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and US Coast Guards have called off the search, Nabilha Khan has launched a GoFundMe, attempting to raise $100,000 to continue a private search for Pervez Khan, a South Florida resident who took off from Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on August 19, but has not been seen since.
US Coast Guards and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force searched 20 hours of 5,032 square miles to no avail, so the family is seeking to raise funds to find the missing pilot themselves.
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe stood at $13,000.
“We are out again today searching by plane, boat, and on foot,” Khan said on Tuesday.
Khan believes her father’s aircraft Cessna 402 either crashed or may have ditched the plane.
“I’m not sure which.
“It is crucial that we keep searching,” Khan told Local 10 News.
“We need to keep looking in new areas.”
“My father has flown this flight thousands of times. He’s been flying to the Bahamas for decades.”
Khan was the only person aboard the plane and was last seen 17 miles west off the coast of Eleuthera.
Family said they were finally able to search a previously unsearched area with a helicopter hired from Boca Raton because there were no available helicopters in the country.
The family is asking everyone to be on the lookout for the any sightings or clues of the plane, as they continue their search for Khan.