Investigation launched into plane crash
Members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) visit Constable Michael Grimmond at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
Members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) visit Constable Michael Grimmond at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital

– survivors in stable condition

THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has commenced an investigation into the accident Monday evening involving an aircraft owned and operated by the Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Services (GAMAS).

Reports are that the aircraft, a Cessna 182 bearing American registration N8704T, crashed-landed around 19:00hrs on Monday night, having reportedly run out of fuel on its way from Arau, a location in western Guyana near the Guyana-Venezuela border.
The pilot and policeman aboard the plane at the time were injured during the crash near the Canal Number Two conservancy area, but are now in stable condition.

The plane was transporting the remains of a US missionary, Christopher Matthews, who fell off a mountain in Arau, Region Seven and died.

The injured men have been identified as Captain Lincoln Gomez, the pilot of the aircraft, who reportedly sustained a broken jaw and other facial injuries and Michael Grimmond, a policeman who suffered multiple fractures to his face and lacerations about the body.

On Tuesday, representatives of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on behalf of the Commissioner of Police and the senior administration team visited Constable Grimmond at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

They wished Grimmond, whom they described as being in “high spirits”, a speedy recovery while commending him for his bravery and heroism.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary of the Guyana Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, Pastor Exton Clarke and Adventist Mission and Men’s Ministry Director, Pastor Dennis Hamilton visited the hospital on Tuesday to see Gomez.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Pastor Clarke said the pilot is recovering well.
“The pilot is practically stable,” he said, adding: “I did a visit this morning at the hospital and I don’t have all the details, but he suffered some scars on his face and [damage] to his shoulder. He is in the emergency care room and he is conscious.”
He also explained that GAMAS is a self-supporting ministry, which for over two decades, has been providing health outreaches, medical evacuations and community religious development primarily in hinterland locations.

“The planes are under the administration of GAMAS, not under the Guyana Conference of SDAs. But of course, by virtue of them being here, we collaborate from time to time. They would do trips for us taking some of our directors sometimes into these hinterland areas. But we don’t deal with the actual managing or administration of the organisation. That is primarily GAMAS,” he clarified.

MAYDAY CALL

Captain Lincoln Gomez

Based on the preliminary report, the aircraft departed Arau at 17:06hrs on February 18, 2019, destined for the Eugene F. Correia International Airport when Gomez made a MAYDAY call to the Timehri Control Tower, reporting a fuel emergency around 18:45hrs.
According to the GCAA, Grimmond called via cellphone and reported that both himself and the pilot were injured but could not confirm their location.

Shortly after, the Aeronautical Search and Rescue Coordination Centre at Timehri was activated; this led to a response from the GPF, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the GCAA, the Guyana Fire Service and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).

They were able to identify the crash site by a reconnaissance flight conducted by a Roraima Airways pilot. During the reconnaissance, Captain Gomez fired 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 condition 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 rescue team recovered the injured pilot and his passenger and after stabilising them, returned to the landing zone for evacuation with the Bell 206 helicopter. The injured were flown to Camp Ayanganna and subsequently transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation via an ambulance, which was on standby. However, the body of the deceased could not be removed from the site during the first extraction due to constraints of terrain and weight,” a GCAA release said.

DOUBLE TRAGEDY
Missionary colleagues of Gomez and Matthews say the accident represents a double tragedy, as Matthews was the only teacher at the Kaikan Bible School.
In a blog, they said that Matthews was hiking with his class when he fell from the mountain, suffered a head injury and died.

He has left behind his wife of just eight months and two daughters.

Meanwhile, according to GAMAS’ website, Gomez first began his flight training in Bolivia and eventually obtained his FAA private pilot´s licence in the US in 2017.

The investigation by the Guyana Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Unit will examine all possible factors that could have contributed to the accident.

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