Final report on Caribbean Airlines crash in 60 days

Almost two years after a Caribbean Airlines 737-800 slid off the end of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport runway, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is optimistic that it will be in receipt of the final report within 60 days.

GCAA Director Zulfikar Mohammed told Guyana Times International that the report is presently being reviewed by the investigative team comprising GCAA Aviation Safety Regulations Director Paula McAdam, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and officials of the Trinidad-based aircraft.
The first draft of the report was completed last November and submitted to the NTSB in Washington, DC, USA for review and advice.
Crash investigators believe excessive speed and other suspected lapses in landing procedures caused the Caribbean Airlines plane to skid off the runway on July 30. Nobody was killed in the accident, but terrified passengers scrambled out of the wreckage to safety.
Preliminary findings by investigators suggested that the pilot might have erred in the mishap, rather than experience mechanical or other system malfunctions. The twin-engine Boeing aircraft was at the time carrying 163 passengers. It landed too fast and too far down the runway. Reports were that the cockpit crew of Flight 523 did not convey to the air traffic controllers on approach that they were experiencing difficulties.
Caribbean Airlines Flight 523 overran runway six at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and several of the 163 passengers aboard were injured.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8BK, had flown from the John F Kennedy Airport, New York to Georgetown, with a stopover at the Piarco International Airport, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. After touching down on a rainy day, the plane crashed through the perimeter fence. The aircraft went over a road before stopping 100 metres and breaking into two.
The majority of the injured were treated at Diamond Diagnostic Hospital and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where 35 passengers were treated for leg, back and neck injuries.
Trinidad’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar flew to Guyana to assess the situation, since the government of Trinidad and Tobago owns Caribbean Airlines.
A passenger later sued the airline seeking damages for her injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of earnings and earning capacity.
There have been a number of other suits filed by Guyanese who were on that flight.