…after undercarriage of ASL craft fell out

THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has grounded all Cessna Caravans pending safety checks to the aircraft, Director General Captain Egbert Field has announced.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the authority made the order after the undercarriage of one of the single-engine craft fell out at that the Eugene F. Correia International Airport on Tuesday. This newspaper was told that just after lunch Wednesday, an Air Services Limited Caravan was being loaded when the left side undercarriage “collapsed” onto the tarmac. The undercarriage is the landing gear of an aircraft and is used for taking off and landing.

Field said that an investigation has been launched to ascertain what caused the unusual occurrence. He said all caravans operating within the country will also have to be checked. “It is something that happens in aviation. If something happens to one aircraft and the reason is not immediately known, it is the practice to ground all aircraft of a similar kind.”
Field said that the probe of the landing gear has commenced and local operators utilising Caravan aircraft have already started examining their aircraft. Field hinted that while the situation would not be considered grave, “in the national interest of safety, checks are being ensured.”

It has been noted that several aircraft conducting internal services in the country are Caravan aircraft. That single-engine type aircraft is owned by most aviation operators and used for mainly hinterland services. The aircraft is essentially a cargo plane with short takeoff and landing capabilities. The short haul aircraft is ideal for operation on short hinterland airstrips and very important for shuttling to the mining community since it can seat some nine to 14 passengers, with comfortable cargo room.

A similar suspension ordered by the GCAA saw all interior flight operations coming to a halt in 2017. The GCAA had demanded the standard operational manuals and other documents showing how operators conducted their operations after two pilots had died while

conducting shuttle flights in interior locations. The suspension had stemmed from three plane crashes within short timespans of each other. The ban had caused significant flight difficulties for persons living and working in the interior. Goods and in particular; fuel for thriving interior mining operations, could not be delivered.