The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) probes into two domestic airplane crashes will take another couple of weeks as one of the engines has been sent to the United States of America for further investigation.
This was revealed by head of the Authority, Egbert Field yesterday, who related to Stabroek News that the reports into the two domestic crashes would not be completed for another few weeks as the investigating officer has since gone on annual leave and would not be returning for another few weeks.
However, he reported that the engine of the Cessna 206 aircraft that resulted in the death of Captain Randy Liverpool, has been sent to the United States of America pending further investigation.
“With the Liverpool probe, the investigation is still ongoing and the engine has been sent. It’s about to be completed but we are waiting on reports for the engine. For the medevac, it is in the final stages of being written up,” he said, while emphasising that they will have to wait until the investigator returns from leave to complete both investigations, which wouldn’t be for another couple of weeks.
On February 18, a Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Services plane crash-landed in the wetlands area behind Nismes on the West Bank of Demerara, with two persons and a dead body onboard.
Field had told Stabroek News that the plane went down about 13 miles from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri. The aircraft, a single-engine Cessna, was returning from a medical mission in the North West District and was at the time headed to the Eugene F Correia International Airport.
The pilot, Lincoln Gomez and policeman Michael Grimond were both rescued from the crash. Gomez suffered a broken jaw, Grimond sustained a broken leg.
Four days later, Captain Liverpool’s aircraft went down in Eteringbang, Region Seven, resulting in his death. The aircraft was registered to Domestic Airways and the GCAA had said that the plane crashed while approaching the Eteringbang Airstrip around 5.45 pm.
The police had said 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.
When the reports are completed they will be submitted to the Minister of Public Infrastructure, who will then do a further review before they are approved to be made public.
Field said that they will also look at the report and its recommendations and will decide which of them they can act on.
