Bad weather blamed for plane incident in Guyana’s interior

Around a dozen persons were on Monday morning injured in Guyana when an Air Services Limited Cessna Caravan plane crashed in the vicinity of the manganese company in Matthews Ridge, North West District. Some eight persons have been hospitalised. The injured persons, including the pilot of the aircraft, Feriel Ally, were air-dashed to the city by a Trans Guyana aircraft and taken to several private medical institutions in the city. The injured persons were identified as Esther Williams and her baby, Jonel Williams; Alona Massay; Naline Dellon; Wesley Johnson; Shellon Williams; Urmella Rajesh; and Dexter Benjamin. The other passengers were Lloyd Thomas, Christina Mangru, Clinton Campbell, Troy Henry, and Ulan Benjamin.
According to reports, the aircraft was carrying 12 passengers at the time of the accident, which occurred about a quarter of a mile from the airstrip. Information reaching this newspaper also revealed that at the time of the crash, the airstrip was covered in heavy fog, which posed a challenge to the pilot in landing the aircraft. It reportedly circled three times and then disappeared.
Transport Minister Robeson Benn said the accident occurred about 08: 00h in close proximity to the Matthews Ridge Airstrip. “Initial reports are that… even though, the plane was cleared to land or had reports of fair weather in the area… the weather seemed to have closed in just before the plane was landing,” he told reporters.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is investigating the accident.
An eyewitness, Dwayne Smith told reporters that he was at the airstrip waiting on the plane to go back to the city on the return trip. He said about 08:00h, he saw the aircraft approaching the airstrip, but, owing to the heavy fog, it circled about three times and then disappeared.
At that point, Smith thought that the pilot had decided to return to Georgetown, but a few moments later, the person managing the operation at the facility received a phone call that the aircraft had crashed.
Upon hearing this, Smith said they rushed to the scene only to see the wrecked single-engine aircraft among the bushes. “People were bleeding and crying out for pain, as public-spirited citizens assisted them out of the aircraft… the pilot was covered in blood, but they were quickly loaded into a vehicle owned by Krishna and taken to the Matthews Ridge hospital, which is approximately 10 minutes drive,” Smith said. (Excerpt from Guyana Times)