The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has declared all Cessna Caravans operating out of the Eugene F. Correia International Airport to be safe.
In a press release yesterday, the GCAA said the assessment followed the completion of inspections of all Cessna Caravans at the airport.
It further stated that following the submission of the findings, the Director General of the GCAA, Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Egbert Field, lifted the suspension which was instituted earlier in the week, effectively giving the operators the greenlight to resume using the aircraft as part of their fleets.
The decision to ground the caravans operating out of the airport followed an incident on Wednesday where the left main landing gear of aircraft C208B, belonging to Air Services Limited, collapsed while being loaded at the Ogle Airport.
Field, who had spoken with this newspaper, explained that the suspension was done in the interest of safety for the flying public and so that a more in-depth inspection of the aircraft could be conducted.
The assurance of safety in the local aviation sector has been a focal point for the GCAA, particularly since the deaths of two pilots just weeks apart in 2017.
This also led to the temporary suspension of shuttle flights in the interior by the GCAA to facilitate a review of policies and procedures for shuttle operations.
Field had at the time noted that though the decision was a drastic one, it was one that was made in the interest of ensuring the travelling public’s safety.
On July 25th, 2017, 39-year-old Collin Winston Martin, the chief medical evacuation pilot for Roraima Airlines, died after his plane crashed while approaching the Eteringbang airstrip in Region Seven.
On August 8th, 2017, a single engine Cessna aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff at the Eteringbang airstrip in Region 7. The pilot suffered minor injuries.
On August 27th, 2017, Air Services Limited pilot Imran Khan, 41, died after the plane he was flying crashed into the jungle between Chi-Chi and Mahdia, in Region Eight.
