Captain Zaul Ramotar, the Trans Guyana pilot whose planeload of passengers was hijacked to Brazil on Wednesday feels that the issue of security on border and hinterland locations needs to be urgently addressed.
In an interview yesterday, Ramotar told Stabroek News that with military and police presence at Lethem, security needs to be beefed up especially with both Guyanese and Brazilians going to and from across the border.
He pointed out that there was need for beefed up security for other airstrips at Mabaruma, Matthew's Ridge, Port Kaituma, Mahdia, Kaieteur Falls and those in the Upper Mazaruni areas. Additional security, he said, was needed for Orinduik, which is also next to Guyana/Brazil border where a number of local and foreign visitors frequent.
Speaking about his four-hour ordeal after his plane was hijacked, the pilot, who has been with Trans Guyana for the past three years said that his main fear after it was established that the aircraft was hijacked, was the uncertainty that lay ahead. This fear, he said was only lifted when "we returned home... to Lethem".
Relating his ordeal, Ramotar, the chief pilot of Kayman Sankar Aviation Limited before it was merged with Trans Guyana, said that Wednesday's flight was routine until the skyjacking. On their way to Lethem in the Rupununi from the Ogle Aerodrome, he said the aircraft off-loaded three passengers at Karasabai then proceeded to Lethem where they off-loaded and passengers boarded the flight and "everything appeared normal".
About three to five minutes after take-off, he said "I saw the guy in the middle seat (in the front row), while looking at the instrument panel, reach for something in his waist. I then felt something pressed behind my neck like the muzzle of a gun. It was pressed so forcefully I had to lean forward. It was very unexpected. I was surprised."
"The man who held the gun to my neck then told both of us in front (there was a passenger in the co-pilot's seat) to put our hands up. I put my hands just above the controls. There were two of them. One took off my sunshades and put it on while the other took off my head-set. At no time did they take off the radio frequency. They told us not to look at them and not to look back, an instruction which they repeated several times. Sometimes, I did not understand what they were saying. One patted me down and enquired if either of us had weapons. Both of us said 'no'. (The pilot did have a weapon as one of the hijackers later found out.) The hijacker who appeared to be the leader took out a paper with coordinates and told me to enter it into the aircraft's Global Positioning System (GPS). He told me don't try to mislead him because he had a portable GPS unit which he kept looking at. At that stage he insisted that I descend to about 300 feet which was just above the tree tops."
Ramotar believed he was ordered to fly low to avoid radar detection. The aircraft had been flying at about 4,000 feet. The destination given was located in the State of Roraima west of their position which was about a couple miles north of Pirara village. This was a distance of about 110 nautical miles from where they were hijacked. The hijackers, Ramotar said, kept telling everyone "to remain calm, they did not want to hurt anyone. There wasn't anything I could do but follow instructions."
During the flight, Ramotar said that he realised that his bag had been checked and his firearm licence and gun discovered. The hijacker, who took possession of the gun said to him "that was not good". As they continued their journey, he said that the hijacker would ask how much longer they had to travel and he would tell him.
The pilot said that when they arrived at the place (a ranch with a dirt airstrip) indicated on the coordinates the hijacker said "there was nothing". In the vicinity, he said that he observed two buildings about two miles apart. He flew over the area in two circles then landed. "It was an uneventful landing". The hijacker advised him to taxi next to the adjacent building. When they landed, he said, it was only then that he realised that there were two more hijackers. The two at the front of the plane disembarked while the other two came and stood guard over him. From holding the gun to his neck, the man who relieved the other held the gun to his left rib.
All the while the engine was running. "Apparently", he said "they were checking but no one was there. We waited for about 20 minutes. They asked me if I could take off again. They all assumed their original seating positions, two at the rear and two at the front. After flying for another few nautical miles the leader of the group said they were 'f....d.' He started mumbling that we, the hijacked, would be fine but the police were looking for them, will find then, probably, kill them. He asked to be dropped somewhere. Ramotar said he saw a road that was long enough for landing and asked if the aircraft should land there. The hijacker said okay but apparently changed his mind and told him to go back to the airstrip. Once they had disembarked, he said they promised to let them go.
However, on landing, he said that the hijacker changed his mind and told him to taxi to the corner of the airstrip and switch off the engine which he did. "They asked us all to disembark. It was at this point that I saw some that the passengers? hands had been taped. Some arms were strapped to their bodies by the tapes. They cut loose the tape from everyone", he said. Based on the hijackers reaction, he was not sure whether they were familiar with the area.
Continuing, he said "they asked us to go into a shed. They told us to sit. Two of them appeared to be in their 40's and two in their thirties. The guy who spoke English kept saying that we were lucky. He said we could report them to the authorities as soon as we left because we knew where they were. They said they were not murderers. He said he would give me back my firearm but changed his mind after a while saying that he may need it. They went to the aircraft and I heard them opening the cargo compartment and rummaged through it. They came back and returned the head-set saying they did not want to prevent us from calling the authorities.
Ramotar felt that the men were "trying to buy time staying there without being detected. Eventually, they told us to leave. They also returned a pair of binoculars they had taken from one of the passengers. Everyone was outwardly calm. I made a quick check of the aeroplane to see that nothing had been damaged. Then left as quickly as possible. About five to eight minutes after departure from the ranch I made contact with Lethem told them what had happened. Shortly after I made contact at about 11:00 am with another Guyana aircraft and asked them to relay the message to air traffic control."
In sight of Lethem, he said that "we were intercepted by the Brazilian military. The passengers saw it first and told me. Maybe it was behind or below us. Two minutes after that I also saw the aircraft. It appeared on the left side of my aircraft. Lethem and Bom Fin were in sight. I signalled to the pilot of the military aircraft indicating that I was going to land. He then held up a sign with the frequency and I switched to the one indicated. Shirley Melville (businesswoman and GAP/WPA Member of Parliament) spoke with him in Portuguese. I told her to explain to him that we had been hijacked and were going back to Lethem. We circled Bom Fin because I did not want it to seem as though we were being evasive or trying to get away. I was concerned that we should not be perceived as an aircraft doing anything illegal and anything that would cause them to react negatively to an alien aircraft in their country. I circled Bom Fin in the event that the military should motion for me to land. Ms Melville told them that we were running low on fuel and would be landing at Lethem. The pilot told us to have a good landing and it was then that we found out that he could speak English."
Even though they had landed, he said that the military aircraft kept circling the area for about 15 minutes, supposedly to ensure that we were who we said we were. They made a report to the police at Lethem and made contact with Ogle.
Throughout the ordeal, he said that the passengers were calm and did as they were told but he was not able to communicate with them.
Ramotar, who was due to proceed on leave from yesterday, was flown to Georgetown by Captains Persaud and Harewood while his passengers were flown to the city by Captain Dominic Mendes. He said "I guess it was a grand farewell before I take my two-week leave."