AN American Airlines flight, which was destined for Miami late Tuesday night, was delayed after the plane’s tyres were damaged while it was preparing for take-off at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri.

Reports are that shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the aircraft, a Boeing 738, was taxiing for take-off along Runway 06 when the tires struck the lighting system.
The CJIA management said in a subsequent statement that at approximately 00:34hrs on Wednesday morning, American Airlines flight AA1512 was executing a turn on RWY 06 threshold for takeoff.

During the turn, the aircraft’s nose gear and right main gear tires were deflated after coming into contact with temporary threshold lights. As a result, the aircraft became disabled, and the runway was closed.

The aircraft was subsequently parked on another runway while passengers were taken back to the terminal by bus. They were expected to travel on a second aircraft late on Wednesday.

Works are currently ongoing at the CJIA and the airport’s management stated that the aircraft struck temporary threshold lights which were put in place by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to facilitate the runway extension works.
“The appropriate Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was previously issued to advise of these works and for pilots to exercise caution when in the vicinity of the threshold,” the airport management said.

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is conducting an independent investigation into the incident.

This is the third incident in recent weeks that the airline has faced, resulting in passenger delay although the delays were as a result of incidents attributed to factors on the runway and onboard the aircraft. A few weeks ago a pressurisation issue forced one of the airline’s flights to return to the CJIA minutes after take-off.

Reports are that a similar issue had occurred earlier in the day.
In a separate incident, another flight which was inbound to the CJIA from Miami was forced to make an alternative landing at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad after the runway lighting system at Timehri malfunctioned.
American Airlines entered the local travel market last November as Guyanese continue to welcome travel options in the face of high ticket prices.

Another international carrier, JetBlue, is expected to commence service here in a few months and a team from that airline is expected to meet with the authorities here in September.