Even as it continues a detailed probe into last Friday’s Fly Jamaica crash landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Guyana’s Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says it is satisfied with the airport’s emergency response.
“The agency is satisfied with the emergency response of the airport. In situations which do not happen regularly, like accidents, there may be a few glitches here and there but we are satisfied with the response,” Head of the GCAA, Egbert Field told Stabroek News yesterday.
On Friday at 2.21 am, the pilot and co-pilot, both of whom are Jamaican, indicated that there were some hydraulic problems and requested permission to return to the Timehri airport. Permission was granted and after spending an estimated 43 minutes in the air they were able to land the plane.
The aircraft, however, overshot the open runway and veered to a closed section, resulting in damage to the right wing.
There were 118 passengers and 8 crewmembers aboard and all were safely evacuated although about 10 persons suffered injuries while using the evacuation slide. They were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where they were treated and either discharged or transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for additional tests.
Field said that the Fly Jamaica personnel were given the go ahead to remove the plane from the location where it came to a rest but the main pilot on duty, Jamaican, Basil Ferguson, is expected to soon give a report to the agency and until such time he has to remain in the country.
“The pilot has not been given the okay to leave Guyana. He has to remain. The airline was given the okay to move the aircraft so [that] it is out of the way. Until such time that we are able to interview the pilot; which is very soon, only then will he be allowed to leave. Should we require further information, he might have to return,” he added.
Passengers have lauded Ferguson’s efforts in the emergency landing.
Field has said that the GCAA had not yet been able to send off the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder for decoding since it is the weekend and things are not moving as fast as they had anticipated.
Notwithstanding, continuous efforts were being made to process the crash site and the damaged aircraft. He explained that a thorough investigation will be conducted and asked that patience he granted as the agency undertook its works. He said a more detailed insight into the emergency response operations of the airport, the flight path, if fuel was dumped from the plane before landing and the overall cause for the emergency landing would be had when those investigations are completed.
“We are still analyzing the response because this only happened on Friday and then here was Saturday, which did not give us an opportunity to really give a good analysis. But as we go through the investigation, rest assured that we will be investigating every aspect and we will be able to give you more detail on every front; the emergency response… and the areas which may need a little more improvement. We are now collecting data, we haven’t gone into anything on the flight as yet. At this stage we are just collecting information. This investigation will be proceeding in a very steady, but maybe slow to some, fashion, because we must ensure that we do not miss any details,” he added.
