A pilot died yesterday afternoon in a crash at the Eteringbang Airstrip in Region Seven.
Captain Randy Liverpool was the lone occupant of the Cessna 206 aircraft, which was registered to Domestic Airways.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) last evening confirmed the crash in a brief statement.
The GCAA said the plane crashed on approach at the Eteringbang Airstrip at approximately 5.45 pm. It added that it would provide more information as it becomes available
Stabroek News has learnt that the GCAA has already dispatched inspectors to the scene of the crash to carry out an investigation.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Force, in a statement on the crash last night, explained that the aircraft was travelling from Ekereku to Eteringbang and was about five minutes away from the airstrip when it went down. A loud explosion was heard and fire was seen coming from the aircraft.
Persons in the area immediately responded, the police said, but they were greeted with an engulfed aircraft when they arrived on the scene.
Liverpool’s body was reportedly burnt beyond recognition, the police statement added.
Liverpool’s death has plunged the local aviation sector into mourning and several tributes to him were posted last night on Facebook.
The accident comes on the heels of another where a plane belonging to the Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Services crash-landed on the West Bank of Demerara.
The pilot, Lincoln Gomez, and a policeman, Michael Grimond, based at Eteringbang, were at the time transporting a corpse to the city. The men were rescued from the scene of the crash-landing by a Guyana Defence Force helicopter.
