Civil Aviation Investigators visit scene of small plane crash

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority revealed that the aircraft bearing registration number N8704T, departed Arau in Region Seven at 5:06pm on February 18, 2019, destined for the Eugene F. Correia International Airport when the Guyanese pilot, Captain Lincoln Gomez, made a "MAYDAY" call to the Timehri Control Tower reporting a fuel emergency around 6:45pm.

Civil Aviation Investigators visit scene of small plane crash

Inspectors from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have visited the crash site of the Cessna 182 aircraft which went down close to the Canal Number 2 Conservancy area on Monday evening.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority revealed that the aircraft bearing registration number N8704T, departed Arau in Region Seven at 5:06pm on February 18, 2019, destined for the Eugene F. Correia International Airport when the Guyanese pilot, Captain Lincoln Gomez, made a “MAYDAY” call to the Timehri Control Tower reporting a fuel emergency around 6:45pm.

The aircraft went down with the pilot and one passenger, Constable Michael Grimmond from the Guyana Police Force. At the time of the crash, they were transporting the remains of Christopher Matthews, a United States missionary, who died while mountain climbing in the Region Seven area.

The investigation has revealed that after the plane went down, Constable Grimmond called via cell phone and reported that both himself and the pilot were injured, but could not confirm their location.

The Aeronautical Search and Rescue Coordination Centre at Timehri was activated.

The crash site was identified by a reconnaissance flight conducted by a Roraima Airways aircraft as a result of Captain Gomez firing one of his distress flares from his location.

The first responder team from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) landed as close as possible to the crash site, the report said. But due to the conditions of the terrain, the rescue team had to trek for more than an hour cutting through thick vegetation to reach the crash site from the landing zone.

The rescue team recovered the injured pilot and his passenger, and after stabilizing them, returned to the landing zone for evacuation with the Bell 206 helicopter. The injured were flown to Camp Ayanganna and subsequently transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation via an ambulance which was on standby.

The investigation by the Guyana Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Unit will examine all possible factors that could have contributed to this accident, the report said.

The crashed aircraft was owned by the Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Services, which carried out several medical evacuations and mercy flights from interior locations.

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