The crash-landing of a Caribbean Airlines plane here on July 31, 2011 was primarily due to the pilot making a “long landing” and having insufficient room to come to a safe stop, a statement from the civil aviation body here today said.
Around 1.30 am on July 31, the aircraft, which was on its way to Guyana from New York, with one stop in Trinidad and Tobago, broke in two at the end of the main runway Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri after landing. Reports provided by persons on board were that the aircraft touched the surface of the runway and progressed with speed towards the runway end, after which in broke in two, and subsequently landed in a ditch. Several persons sustained injuries but there was no fatality. Guyanese Noel Smith sustained severe injuries to his right leg which was subsequently amputated.
Pilot error was widely seen as the key factor in the incident. Various forms of information, including footage provided by the airport cameras indicated that the jet landed almost halfway down the runway that morning.
In a statement this afternoon, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority said:
“Hon. Robeson Benn, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics announced today that the Investigator-in-Charge of the BW 523 runway excursion accident reports that the team is close to the completion of the factual information gathering phase. This phase will be followed by an extensive and detailed analysis of the factual information during which additional research and assistance and outside expertise from Organizations such as the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States of America and Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) may be required. At the end of the analysis phase findings and conclusion and safety recommendations will be developed.
“At this stage it appears that the primary contributing factor in this accident was that the aircraft made a long landing and touched down with insufficient runway remaining to come to a safe stop. Detailed analyses will examine several other aspects of this flight to identify any other possible contributing factors in order to learn from this accident and to help identify any measures which may assist in the prevention of future occurrences.
“It is expected, as is the case in most other major accidents, that the analysis and development of conclusions may take at least another year and will follow the established process of rigorous examination of all aspects relating to the occurrence.”
