Investigation launched into aircraft accident at Chenapau

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the crash of an Air Services Limited, Britten-Norman Islander aircraft -bearing registration number 8R-GER, at the Chenapau airstrip.

According to the GCAA, the accident occurred at approximately 15:30hrs on November 1, 2017.

The Authority said preliminary reports indicate that the aircraft was en route from Mahdia to Chenapau when a mechanical problem developed in a section of the wheel causing the aircraft to swerve off the runway upon landing.

“There are no reports of injuries or fatalities, however the carriage section of the aircraft was badly damaged,” the statement said.

Head of the Guyana Aircraft Accidents Investigation Unit, Paula McAdam during a presentation at the National Aviation Safety Conference in October disclosed that there have been a total of 24 accidents in the aviation sector over the past four years—leading to the death of three captains and two crew members.

For 2017, there have been two accidents which caused the death of pilots in just over a month period.

On July 25, Captain Collin Martin, the Chief Pilot at Roraima Airways perished after his aircraft crashed on landing at Eteringbang, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven). On August 8, Captain Dominique Waddell of Wings Aviation Limited was left nursing injuries after his single-engine Cessna aircraft went down in the same area, while on a shuttling mission from Eteringbang to Ekereku.

Again on August 27, Captain Imran Khan perished after the Air Services Limited CESSNA 206 aircraft he was operating crashed in Potaro-Siparuni (Region Eight). He was the only person on board.

Those accidents have led to the GCAA being instructed to increase their inspections of domestic aircraft.