PLANE CRASH PROBE WIDENS

– US team joins local, regional investigators
– Regarding emergency response time, President Jagdeo says ‘everything kicked into place’ following crash

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday met with the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who arrived in the country Saturday night to engage in discussions with Government officials following Saturday morning’s plane crash at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
Prior to paying a courtesy call on the President, Persad-Bissessar and her team including Trinidadian officials and representatives from the T&T-owned Caribbean Airlines, visited several of the injured passengers who were being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, to offer support on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
During a press briefing after meeting with Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, President Jagdeo confirmed that a brief discussion was held about the incident.
“I think that we both are on record as saying that it is a sad event. The good thing is that there were no fatalities… that is what we spoke about,” Mr. Jagdeo told reporters.
Addressing the issue of the response time of the emergency teams activated immediately following the crash-landing of the commercial aircraft, President Jagdeo related that about 15 minutes after the incident, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Mr. Robeson Benn called and briefed him as to the particulars of the accident, at which time the Minister was already on his way to the airport.
“This was 15 minutes after, and I said to him that I’m coming up. I called the Chief of Staff and told him to deploy emergency response teams and to call the army base,” the President said.
In addition to this, the Minister of Health Dr.Leslie Ramsammy was also informed about the situation and instructed to notify the Hospital staff and to deploy ambulances to the site.
President Jagdeo related that about an hour and a half after the incident, he was on site and the passengers were already being attended to by medical personnel as well as staff of Caribbean Airlines.
The Airport Authorities at CJIA were also at the scene of the accident, along with the Commissioner of Police, the Fire Chief and other officials, Mr. Jagdeo affirmed.
He said, “From everything that I know, the emergency response was there…everything in the emergency protocol kicked into place.”
Despite this fact, the Guyanese Head of State disclosed that a review of the emergency response and procedures will be conducted as in the case of any such incident.

SECURITY OF CRASH SITE
Alluding to the security of the crash site and the progress of the investigations so far, President Jagdeo emphasized that everything is being done to protect the integrity of the site and to ensure that a thorough investigation is carried out by the NTSB from the United States, who will be leading the investigations and other investigators. 
He emphasized – at the mid-afternoon press briefing that there have not been any discussions about moving the plane as this is not a decision for politicians to make but rather the representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will have to decide on that.
The President pointed out that no decision will be made concerning the removal of the plane and its ‘tail’ section, until consultations have been made with the technical experts, though the primary concern is safety at the airport.
“This is a call for the technical people…we do not want anything to obstruct the airport as safety is our primary concern…we will not compromise the investigations,” the President stated.
After her visit with President Jagdeo, the Trinidadian Prime Minister and other government officials returned to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport to re-examine the crash site.
Following the press briefing, in an invited comment yesterday afternoon, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Mr.Zulfikar Mohamed reiterated that a decision will be made as to the removal of the tail of the crashed craft after a meeting with the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) specialists who arrived here around 17:00 hrs yesterday. The experts have already visited the crash-site where they had a first-hand look at the wreckage.

CRASH-LANDS
A Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737, flight 523 from Piarco International Airport in Trinidad to CJIA, landed at 13:32 hrs on Saturday morning and overran the end of the runway with 154 passengers and 6 crew members on board. The fuselage broke in two leaving the tail section protruding above the level of the tarmac.
Thirty five passengers were treated at the Georgetown Hospital; out of that four were admitted with two of them sustaining broken limbs.
An investigation has since been launched by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and experts from the Region and North America have been consulted. The aircraft has been quarantined as inquiries into the accident continue.

AVOID SPECULATION

During a press conference at the Airport late Saturday afternoon, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn affirmed that an investigation has been launched by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority to determine the cause of the accident, in collaboration with the Caribbean Aviation Safety Oversight System (CASSOS), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft.
He also urged persons not to speculate as to the cause of the accident but rather to await the results and findings of the investigations.

However, the Guyana Chronicle was informed by a source close to the investigations yesterday that after the aircraft was examined, it was observed that the flaps were in an upward position.

As to how this would affect the landing, the source explained that as the flaps are extended, the stalling speed of the aircraft is reduced which means that the aircraft can fly safely at lower speeds (especially during take off and landing).
This can be beneficial in the approach and landing phase because it helps to slow the aircraft and provides the pilot with a greater view over the nose of the aircraft and allows a better view of the runway during approach and landing.
Meanwhile inquiries into the exact cause of the accident continue.














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