…passengers escape serious injuries

PASSENGERS on board a Fly Jamaica Boeing 757aircraft escaped with their lives after the plane skidded off the runway at the Cheddi Jagan international Airport (CJIA) on Friday morning following an emergency landing.

Flight OJ256 departed the CJIA on Friday morning bound for Toronto, Canada. Minutes into the flight however, the pilots reported to the Control Tower at the airport that they were experiencing an emergency. Airport staff told this newspaper that the plane, which bears registration N524AT, experienced a hydraulic issue soon after departure.

After declaring the emergency, the pilots commenced procedures relevant to the situation; these included dumping fuel over the sea in an effort to reduce weight on impact.

The aircraft then approached the main runway at the CJIA and landed on RWY06 around 02:53hrs. It proceeded down the runway and skidded to the right before coming to a halt in the sand and dirt. Fortunately for those on board, the plane stopped atop a hill with the nose visible at the edge of the hill from the surface below.

When this newspaper arrived at the scene, soldiers and policemen were securing the aircraft while airport staff and airline personnel milled around the scene.

Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson told reporters at a press briefing at the CJIA later on Friday morning that there were 128 persons on board, including 118 adults , two children and eight crew members. “Everyone has been accounted for; some persons were slightly injured while deplaning,” he said.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud told the media at the press briefing that 10 persons were taken to the hospital following the accident. He said five are under investigation for spinal injuries and noted that seven were sent to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for further tests. He said three persons were being treated for blood pressure.

Patterson said the investigations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Field, told the media at the press briefing that an investigator has been designated and appointed by the subject minister .

Reports are that former Air Safety Director of the GCAA, Paula McAdam , who led investigations into the Caribbean Airline 523 crash at the CJIA back in June 2011 is heading the investigation into Friday morning’s’ accident.

Field said that the lead investigator will be assisted by inspectors of the GCAA. He said too that an official of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, under whose portfolio the airline was registered, has been informed of Friday’s accident.

In addition, he said that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States has been informed and according to Field, the body is willing to provide assistance and support. A designated NTSB representative has been assigned locally, he added.
Field said too that key elements for the investigation, retrieval of the flight data and cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft have been secured and will be sent to the NTSB for analysis.
Field said the runway on which the accident occurred was reopened on Friday morning after the delay. Regarding the investigation, Field said that “it will take some time” as he noted that it will focus on the cause of the accident and “not to cause blame on anyone.”

Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson told the news conference that the passengers were taken to a holding facility; the airline took their information, including contact numbers and addresses. She said Fly Jamaica made provisions for the passengers to be transported to their homes or hotels.

Ms. Ferguson said the airline has been advised that a few persons will be travelling to their destinations via CAL from Saturday; arrangements were being made to have their luggage relocated and recorded, after which they would be able to uplift.

CJIA CEO, Ramesh Ghir , who was also at the press briefing , said the airport was closed immediately after the accident. He said a CAL flight which was delayed as a result of the accident, departed at 07:30hrs and that airline also decided to divert other flights to Trinidad.

Ghir said once the aircraft has been handed over to the airline by investigators, the CJIA will lend support in relocating it at the airport.

Meanwhile, the accident was a chilling reminder to residents of the June 2011, Boeing 738 aircraft accident in which a Caribbean Airlines Boeing 738 ran off the runway in question around 01:32hrs that morning on arrival from Trinidad and Tobago. The plane had departed New York earlier.

Meloma Pereira said on Friday morning she was awakened by a loud noise; when she looked up, she saw the tail of the Fly Jamaica aircraft at the edge of the runway and vehicles with sirens rushing up and down the runway. “That is when I realise something wrong in the neighbourhood, because you don’t hear siren that hour of the morning,” she said. She said too she lived closer to the edge of the runway in 2011 when CAL’s aircraft crashed and according to her,” I was seeing the same thing all over again.”

Another resident, Melissa Khan, who lives close to Pereira accident site on Friday morning.
She related that she moments earlier had returned from work when she heard a loud explosion, which her husband said sounded like a burst tire. Khan said from her bedroom window she saw the plane perched on the side of the runway in the sand with its tail in the air. She said one of the wings appeared to have broken off.

Moments later, the couple saw vehicles travelling to and fro while persons ran out of their homes to obtain a better glimpse of the situation.

The accident on Friday morning occurred along the expanded section of the runway which is undergoing expansion works by Chinese firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

The aircraft came to a halt in a parcel of dirt and a layer of sand and according to a taxi-driver, God was once again with those on board the aircraft; he noted that appreciation must be given to the crew and praise to God for the parcel of dirt and sand which prevented the plane from falling off the ridge at the edge of the runway.