Three years and five months after a Shorts Skyvan crashed into the canefield bordering 'E' Block Sophia and Lamaha Springs killing two persons and injuring five, a final report on the investigations is still to be released.
It raises questions about how quickly results could be had from an investigation into last month's crash of an Air Services Limited plane en route to Kopinang. Three persons died in that crash.
The survivors from the 2003 crash included the pilot, Sarvepaul Persaud and the co-pilot Noel Persaud, both of whom have returned to the skies and Clive Mannie, who has not seen the inside of a small aircraft since.
The accident involving the Trans Guyana-owned Skyvan occurred on Saturday, November 8, 2003. The Skyvan took off from the Ogle aerodrome at 10:59 am for a charter flight to Ekereku Bottom. One minute after take-off the pilot declared an emergency. He was forced to crash land as the plane hit a ridge then skidded approximately 100 feet from the point of impact before coming to rest on an uncultivated piece of land. Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the engines had failed.
Asked about the results of the investigations and how they would have dealt with claims for the deceased and the injured, General Manager of Trans Guyana Gerry Gonsalves told the Stabroek News that he was not in charge at the time but he was aware that every passenger and crew member had been compensated.
Gonsalves noted that the pilot and co-pilot at the time have resumed flying with the company. Noel Persaud, who was not as seriously injured as Sarvepaul Persaud, was flying a few weeks after the accident. However, Sarvepaul was air-dashed to Miami for medical treatment. He subsequently resumed flying for Trans Guyana as well. Their medical expenses were covered by insurance and the company.
Gonsalves advised that Stabroek News check with the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) on the final report. When contacted, the GCCA Director General, Zulficar Mohamed told the Stabroek News that apart from the preliminary investigations which had indicated that a cracked engine casing, which caused the compressor pressure to fall, was the likely cause, there has been no further report on investigations which were supposed to be carried out in the United Kingdom.
The investigations in the UK were to be carried out by the UK Aviation Accident Investigation Board with assistance from the US National Transportation and Safety Board.
Mohamed said that these investigations "do take some time" but the GCCA was still in touch with the investigating board.
Survivor, Mannie, whose uncle, Rondel Mannie perished as a result of the accident told Stabroek News that the crash was one incident he does not like to speak about. His uncle's wife, he said, was given some form of compensation but he does not know in what form. She has since migrated.
Since the accident he has flown but in larger aircraft overseas. Expressing the view that Guyana needs to upgrade its aircraft and landing strips to accommodate larger aircraft, he declared that he would not fly in another small aircraft again. He said that if private owners are going to use the small craft for commercial purposes they must have substantial insurance coverage to compensate those who might suffer on account of accidents.
He feels that small aircraft should be used for private needs but not commercially since he feels that people are not properly compensated when they lose loved ones or suffer physical and emotional injuries after such an ordeal. He said he was given some money but he does not think that the amount given was "fair." He could have taken legal action but he said it would have cost valuable time, money and the effort to go through with it. Though he did not say how much it was, he said "it was not satisfactory." Everyone, he said was dealt with on an individual basis. "I seldom talk about the accident. I do sometimes to try to shake it (the memory) off. At first I felt a lot of anger but my Mom, especially, father and brothers were there for me," he said.
Mannie only returned to the interior this year but did so by a "bush truck" and the family has moved their operations from Ekereku to Issano, which is more accessible by road. He said it was funny that since the accident he has not met with the other survivors and even though he was hospitalised along with the co-pilot and they spoke and now live in the same area he has never seen him. He says that he would like to meet with him.
Speaking about the accident, he said the November 8 flight, was his second in a small aircraft going into the interior. His family owned a dredging operation at Ekereku.
In his words, he said, "I really can't say what transpired. They have never told us what took place. I don't think weight was the cause. I was there the morning when they were weighing cargo. I remember I had some extra stuff I had wanted to go on board the plane. They said it was against their policy to carry the extra pounds even though I was aware that we would also use (another charter- name provided) with a similar Skyvan, which would carry the extra weight."
He said that "even though the plane had taken off, it never occurred to me for some reason that the plane was in trouble. When I realized there might be a problem, I wasn't scared. I said maybe, there is a problem and they would fix it.
"I became concerned. When I looked out of the window and instead of seeing the houses get smaller they were getting bigger because we were descending. It was during that time that the third crew member, Premchand Arjoon, who died in the crash, opened the door. I looked around to see the reaction of the others. I looked to see whether the pilots were panicking. Everyone was quiet. Then everything happened so quickly, the last thing I knew was that I went into a crash position and I can't tell if I blacked out or what happened immediately after. The crash position, which meant putting my head partly between my legs, might have saved my life or it could have been where I sat towards the rear of the plane, or some other factor."
He said that he had worked on ships in Europe previously and had done quite a few courses on dealing with emergencies and the crash position came to mind quickly. At present, he said he does not even want to fall off a bicycle.
He recalled that the plane had stopped completely on the ground and he was suspended in the air by his seat belt, a position from which he could not extricate himself. Others were pulled to safety. He was the last pulled out but it took "a long time to get me out. It wasn't easy. I had to wait my turn and I remember thinking that the engine could explode at anytime. Fortunately it did not."
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT or take-off) is one of the four most likely times for accidents in the aviation industry.