Following the crash-landing of a Cessna 182 aircraft bearing registration number N8704T that is owned and operated by Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Services (GAMAS) on Monday evening, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority has launched an investigation into the incident.
The crash has left Policeman Mark Grimmond with multiple fractures to his face and lacerations about the body while the pilot, Lincoln Gomez, suffered a broken jaw and other bodily injuries. Gomez is a patient at Georgetown Public Hospital, while Grimond has been admitted to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.
Reports are the two were transporting the body of the Director of Kaikan Bible School, Christopher Matthews, who died on Monday after falling off a mountain at Arau in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
The aircraft departed the interior location at 17:06h and was heading to the Eugene F Correia International Airport when the pilot made a “mayday” call to the Timehri Control Tower reporting a fuel emergency at about 18:45h.
However, the aircraft, according to the GCAA, went down shortly after that and the Police rank telephoned and reported that both him and the pilot were injured, but could not confirm their location.
The Aeronautical Search and Rescue Coordination Centre at Timehri was activated with assistance from the Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Police Force, the Civil Defence Commission, GCAA, Guyana Fire Service and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority.
The crash site was identified by a reconnaissance flight conducted by a Roraima Airways aircraft and as a result, 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. 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 GCAA said on Tuesday.
After several hours, the rescue team recovered the injured pilot and the Policeman, and after stabilising them, returned to the landing zone for evacuation with the Bell 206 helicopter. The injured men were flown to Base Camp Ayanganna and subsequently transported to the hospitals.
However, the body of Matthews could not be removed from the site during the first extraction due to constraints of terrain and weight. His body was flown out of the site on Tuesday.
The investigations are being led by the Guyana Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Unit which has committed to examining all possible factors that could have contributed to the accident.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Police Welfare Officer, Deputy Superintendent Jewel Sullivan along with Public Relations Officer (PRO) Superintendent Jairam Ramlakhan; his deputy, Cadet Officer Ike Grandison; and other members of the Guyana Police Force visited Constable Grimmond.
