The report from the US National Transport and Safety Board (NTSB) on the causes of the Air Services Limited aircraft crash which killed three persons including its pilot Captain Mohan Sharma in April last year has arrived, and will complement the preliminary findings of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The total report will be made available shortly.
GCAA Director Zulficar Mohammed made the disclosure to this newspaper on Friday but noted that the document would have to be reviewed by Transport Minister Robeson Benn.
The NTSB conducted strip assessments of the aircraft’s engines and other parts which had been sent to it to ascertain what may have caused the April 25, 2007 crash of the Britten Norman Islander.
The plane lost contact with the Ogle Airstrip Control Tower just prior to its scheduled touchdown at Kopinang, 170 miles away. Bernice Pereira, a resident of Kopinang, and her four-year-old son Arnold were the only survivors in the crash which killed Bernice’s three-month-old daughter Britney, the pilot, Captain Rohan Sharma, and Ernestine Moses, also of Kopinang.
Mohammed in a previous interview with this newspaper had said that once the findings of the accident were complete the airline would be involved in discussions, and added that the report would be used to ensure that systems were put in place to prevent the recurrence of any discrepancies.
Bad weather was identified as a possible contributor to the accident.
