An Air Services Ltd (ASL) aircraft which was carrying passengers and cargo yesterday suffered a punctured tyre while attempting to land at the Port Kaituma airstrip.
According to a Guyana Police Force (GPF) release, the ASL aircraft, registration No. 8 R-BKP, arrived at the Port Kaituma airstrip yesterday morning at 8:20 hrs. The aircraft had 12 passengers on board, along with cargo. The release stated that as the aircraft was landing, it made contact with the airstrip and the right side tyre punctured. This resulted in the craft having to stop on the airstrip. GPF ranks along with the captain of the aircraft examined the plane and confirmed that the tyre had indeed suffered a puncture. Following instructions from the captain, public-spirited persons pushed the aircraft off to the side of the runway. No injuries were reported and the aircraft suffered no further damage.
Attempts to contact the ASL for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. This is the latest in a series of aviation mishaps.
On August 14, at approximately 11:30 am, a Roraima Airways aircraft crash-landed in the vicinity of the Haags Bosch sanitary landfill facility, on the East Bank of Demerara, after experiencing mechanical problems. The aircraft, a Britten-Norman Trislander bearing registration No. 8R GRE, was expected to land at the Eugene F Correia International Air-port, Ogle, however, after it departed Imbaimadai, in Region Seven, around 10.20 am, it crashed before landing at Ogle. There were two adult passengers on board – a two-year-old child as well as two crew members. Immediately after the incident, a search and rescue operation was activated by the Timehri Control Tower and ranks from the Guyana Defence Force and GPF were mobilised and despatched to the scene.
The injured persons were transported by a GDF helicopter to Camp Ayanganna and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for medical evaluation. One of the injured persons reportedly sustained a broken leg. According to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), fuel starvation is suspected to be the main contributor to the crash-landing of the aircraft.
There were several other incidents before this one including another where an aircraft suffered a punctured tyre.
