Investigators, including US team, still combing the area for clues
THREE days after Caribbean Airlines Flight BW 523 from Piarco International Airport skidded off the runway at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), investigators, including a team from United States, are still combing the scene for clues as to what caused the mishap. Even as the inquiries continue, the aircraft remains as it ended up at the crash site, despite calls for the tail to be removed to restore the full use of the runway.
As to the reason for this delay, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Zulfikar Mohamed, in a telephone interview yesterday, explained that no decision will be made in this regard until the investigators have concluded their examination.

During a press briefing hours after the mishap, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn noted that the tail of the aircraft would be removed to restore the full use of the 7500ft runway, as well as to restore the aerodrome to its safe status.
However, President Bharrat Jagdeo, in a subsequent press conference on Sunday morning, emphasized that no decision will be made concerning the removal of the plane and its tail until consultations have been made with the technical experts, though safety remains the primary concern 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 pronounced.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CJIA, Ramesh Ghir, has given his assurances that operations at the airport are normal despite, the availability of only 7000ft of runway in use.
As proof of this, there were 29 international flights landing yesterday, with a total of 6000 passengers, he pointed out.
“Operations are back to normal, in fact the airport was re-opened on Saturday” Ghir affirmed.
The CEO also confirmed that the “Black Box” or the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) from the plane has been taken to the United States.
The devise was retrieved on Saturday and was immediately sent to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) headquarters in Washington.
The data recorded by the FDR is used for accident investigation and the recovery of the instrument is usually a high priority for the investigating body, as analysis of the recorded parameters can often detect and identify causes or contributing factors.
The vital information will shed some light on what transpired at 01:32 hrs Saturday morning as the plane, carrying 154 passengers and six crew members, careened off the runway.
The aircraft broke in two after it over-ran the end of the runway during landing, and broke through the airport perimeter fence.
Immediately after the incident, an investigation was launched by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, in collaboration with the Caribbean Aviation Safety Oversight System (CASSOS), the National Transportation Safety Board, (NTSB) and Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft.
Thirty five passengers were treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for injuries sustained during the ordeal, out of which four were admitted, with two of them sustaining broken limbs.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Kamla Persad- Bissessar, and her team, including Trinidadian officials and representatives from Caribbean Airlines (CAL) arrived in Guyana Saturday night and on Sunday she visited three of the injured passengers at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Caribbean Airlines is the national carrier of the twin-island republic.