Ecuadorian-registered plane was fitted with extra fuel tanks, disguised as Venezuelan

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Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon

The Ecuadorian-registered aircraft seized Monday in Guyana’s interior was fitted with extra fuel tanks and its registration number changed to a Venezuelan one, authorities said Wednesday.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon said the extra tanks and pumps were an indication that the plane was about to go on a long-haul flight from the illegal airstrip at Pirara, North Rupununi.
“What was discovered at the airstrip where the aircraft was found was a modification for extended flying and an effort to disguise its registration, a modification to permit extended flying hours,” Luncheon, who is also Chairman of Guyana’s Defence Board, told a news conference.
The Cessna 421 plane departed the Ogle International Airport on Sunday at 19:40 (GMT) ostensibly destined for Boa Vista but the pilot eventually discontinued contact with Guyana’s Air Traffic Control.
A search was launched and the aircraft was found at Pirara minus the Brazilian pilot, Goncola Ferreira Lima Neto, who was the lone occupant. He had arrived on October 26 to fly the plane that had arrived here two months earlier from Trinidad on what Aviation Minister, Robeson Benn earlier this week said was a “technical stop.” The pilot has not been seen since.
Authorities said nothing illegal has been found on the aircraft whose real registration is HC-CIK. The plane was also repainted and the registration changed to Venezuelan.
The Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) has credited the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) with playing a major role in locating and securing the aircraft.
The Guyana government says it plans to probe how the aircraft was at the Ogle International Airport without anyone questioning the motive for its presence.

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