NASSAU, Bahamas -- Bahamian officials said a Florida-based airline that recently announced plans to resume flights to the Bahamas almost eight months after one of its seaplanes crashed off Miami Beach, killing all 20 people on board, does not have permission to operate in the country.

Anthony Dean, chief operations officer for the Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation, said a decision on whether to grant a permit to Chalk's would be made after U.S. authorities complete investigations into the Dec. 19, 2005, crash.

Local 10's Rad Berky reported Tuesday that Chalk's planned to resume a limited schedule of flights beginning Thursday, although the airline would not be flying the vintage Grumman G-73T Turbo Mallards like the one that crashed last year.

The fatal flight had just taken off from Watson Island en route to Bimini, Bahamas, when the 58-year-old plane crashed into the waters off Government Cut.

Shortly after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Mallard seaplanes, but Chalk's announced that it planned to return to the air, this time operating a 19-passenger Beech 1900 leased from Big Sky Airlines. The Beech 1900 is a land-based aircraft that is not built for amphibious landings or takeoffs.

Chalk's would fly once a day roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Bimini and Nassau, Bahamas, Berky reported.

In June, the National Transportation Safety Board released documents on the crash that revealed some Chalk's pilots became so worried about maintenance in 2004 that three captains quit.

"The pilots wanted the airplanes fixed and were willing to see the company close if the issues were not addressed," Chalk's pilot Robert Lutz told NTSB officials.

Chalk's, which has flown between Florida and the Bahamas since 1919, has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years, according to figures from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Owner Jim Confalone bought the airline after it was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in 1999 under previous management when creditors sued the carrier.

In 2002, Chalk's had net losses of $244,000 on operating revenues of $5.4 million.

The airline has already let 69 of 87 employees go.

The NTSB has not yet released its probable cause report on the crash.