Hope is still alive for the rescue of the three men on board the US chartered aircraft that went missing more than two weeks ago, as the two companies for which the men work have vowed to continue searching the interior location where the plane went missing with no “end date” in sight. The Guyana government called off its search and rescue operation on Monday.
Public Relations Officer of the Dynamic Aviation Inc (DAI), Rick Ruff told Stabroek News yesterday that DAI still hoped that the crew members are alive and will continue to search.
“We are still focused on trying to find our crew. We have hope that they are alive and we will continue,” Ruff told Stabroek News via telephone from his US office.
General Manager of Terraquest Ltd, Stephen Barrie also confirmed to Stabroek News from his Canada office that his company, in collaboration with DAI, will continue searching for the missing plane.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there that has upset the families… but we have not called off the search,” Barrie said, in direct reference to the fact that the Guyana government, through Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, had announced on Monday that the search and rescue operation was called off and that the three men were presumed dead.
Benn had said that it was a difficult decision to make, but stated that it was futile to continue the search after 15 days with no sign of the three men who were aboard the Beach King Aircraft. Americans James Wesley Barker, 28, and Chris Paris, 23, the Captain and First Officer, respectively, along with Canadian Patrick Murphy, a geophysics technician were on board the plane. The aircraft was chartered from DAI by Terraquest to conduct geophysical surveys on behalf of Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc, a subsidiary of the Toronto-based U3O8 Corporation. The aircraft was scheduled to operate in the Chi Chi – Imbaimadai area located in Cuyuni and following four hours, thirty minutes in the area it was expected to return to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
“As difficult as it may seem we have done everything that we could do or that we can possibly do… We have expended all the resources, the time and the effort that we could at this stage of the game… until anything else happens we have concluded that the aircraft and its occupants are lost,” Benn had said.
Ruff told Stabroek News that his company will continue the aerial search of the area and he revealed that it was in the process of flying another aircraft to Guyana with special equipment to assist in the search. He said while there was an ongoing ground search of the area, which is supported by residents of the area, his company will mainly concentrate on the aerial search.
Asked about what the company plans to do should the search prove futile, Ruff said, “We have not thought that far ahead. We will continue searching and we have not planned any end date.”
Neither Ruff nor Barrie would comment on the Guyana government calling off its search and rescue. Ruff said the government obviously had to look at its resources and he was not prepared to comment on the discontinuing of the search.
Meanwhile, Barrie told Stabroek News that the search has moved into “Phase B”, with the ground operation being the main focus. He said the ground searchers would follow-up on any area of interest, while specialists will continue to examine the photographic data that was collected of the area. “We are continuing, we have not called off the search,” he stressed.
Tricia Burgess, Barker’s aunt and the family spokesperson, was quoted in upstatetoday.com as saying that her family was not giving up hope of finding her nephew alive.
“We’re still waiting. I know the search has not been called off,” she stated. “The company (Dynamic Aviation) has told us there will be a ground search for them for at least a solid month, guaranteed,” she further said.
“They’re cutting through the terrain and literally camping out and spending the night at each stopping point,” she said. “We know the Guyanese defence force’s planes are grounded; there’s still a lot of people searching on the ground,” the news agency quoted Burgess as saying.
“We’re staying positive. These three men are young and strong,” Burgess said. “Wes has some training, Chris was an Eagle Scout. We’re still very confident that they can survive. It’s just a matter of locating them.” She said the family has been receiving daily reports from the local US Embassy and from Dynamic Aviation.
Tricia Burgess told Stabroek News via email that her 28-year-old nephew has been a pilot since 2002 and was employed by Dynamic Aviation for the last two years. She gave his parents’ names as James and Teresa Barker, with whom he lived in Salem, South Carolina.
Paris is said to have graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in December 2007. While at the school, he made the Dean’s List several times and received his pilot’s licence. By graduation, Paris had become a flying instructor and obtained Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) certifications to pilot single and multi-engine aircraft.
He is currently engaged to Dara Hall and according to their wedding registry; the wedding is scheduled for December 27 in Wilson County, Tennessee.
