Skyvan crashes in Sophia backlands
--Two killed, five hurt
Guyana Chronicle
November 9, 2003
A Skyvan belonging to Trans Guyana Airways crashed yesterday in the Sophia backlands leaving two persons dead and five hospitalised.
Dead are, Mr. Premchand Arjune, 33, Flight Dispatcher for Trans Guyana Airways, and Mr. Randolph Mannie, 47, part-time pork-knocker and carpenter. The others, who are receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) are Pilots, Savrepaul Persaud and Noel Persaud; and passengers, Brian Blair, Randolph Charles and Clive Mannie, nephew of Randolph Mannie.
Speaking at press conference called yesterday afternoon, Mr. Chabeenan Ramphal, Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAD), said that the aircraft lifted off of Runway 24 at the Ogle Aerodrome at 10:59 hrs yesterday en route to Ekereku Bottom in the Upper Mazaruni area, Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni).
One minute after takeoff, Captain Savrepaul Persaud radioed Flight Control at Ogle declaring an emergency situation. He informed personnel there that he was forced to crash-land into the cane-fields bordering E-Block Sophia and Lamaha Springs. The plane hit a ridge and then skidded approximately 100 feet from the point of impact, before coming to rest on an uncultivated piece of land.
Mr. Ramphal lauded the efforts of the residents of Sohpia, who were instrumental in rescuing the survivors of the accident. When the Guyana Chronicle visited the crash site after midday yesterday, Sophia resident Dwight Langellier was there to relate the part he and others played in bringing the injured to safety.
According to Langellier, when he arrived on the scene, some sugar workers from the estate where already there. The Pilot and Co-Pilots were on the ground near the fallen aircraft. As Langellier and some others were looking after the two men, they heard some sounds emanating from the inside of the aircraft. He stated that after the Pilots informed them that there were a total of seven persons onboard, those present used axes to pry open the front of the damaged aircraft in a bid to rescue the passengers trapped inside.
Langellier recalled one person (he believes it was Randolph Mannie) being pinned down at the knees by what seemed a large engine or electrical generator. He said that Trans Guyana officials drove some of the injured out. One survivor was carried to the boundary of Lamaha Springs from where he was driven to the hospital by Assistant Commissioner of Police Henry Green.
The fatally injured Premchand Arjune was transported by Hovercraft to the Lamaha Springs boundary from where he was also transported to the Georgetown Hospital.
Langellier said he left the crash site near the end of the rescue effort in order to wash the blood off his clothes.
Lester Dejonge, another resident of Sophia, who remained throughout the effort, said the only snag in the mopping-up operation occurred when persons from the area were interrupted in their task of assisting the injured by members of the Police Target Special Squad.
The scene at the Georgetown hospital yesterday was a heartrending one with the relatives of the injured either crying or on the verge of the tears as they awaited news from the medical personnel. Emotions heightened as word came about the demise of Premchand Arjune. The mother of the deceased, Mrs Rookmin Arjune, was inconsolable as she mourned the loss of her youngest child. Sobbing and trembling while reiterating that she had lost all faith in God, the widow recalled her struggles in bringing up her six children alone. Efforts made to calm her by family, friends and Trans Guyana shareholder, Beni Sankar, were unsuccessful.
Present also at the hospital was Vanessa Mannie, niece of Randolph Mannie and cousin of Clive Mannie. Ms Mannie, a resident of North Ruimveldt, said that she first learned of the crash when she saw two small planes circling above the cane-fields not far from her home. The young woman related that she and other residents rushed to the crash site, where she saw her two relatives being rescued by the Sophia residents.
A tearful but relieved young woman informed the Chronicle that her cousin was listed as “stable” while her uncle had undergone emergency surgery. (The elder Mannie later succumbed to what GPHC officials described as “extensive abdominal and chest traum”).
Details as to what actually caused the crash of the Skyvan are still unclear. According to Ramphal of the CAA, one of the aircraft’s engines failed in the crucial period seconds after takeoff. Officials of the CAA were at the scene yesterday to gather information on what may have occurred. The Director-General of the Authority said that the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder would be sent to Trinidad and Tobago for decoding since Guyana does not possess the necessary technology for such an operation. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is a device used on most commercial aircraft to pick up radio transmissions and other sounds that an aircraft may produce, including those that may be indicative of engine failure. The CVR readout should be returned from Trinidad by Wednesday, Mr. Ramphal said.
Manufactured by Short Brothers, Northern Belfast, Ireland, the Skyvan was modified by Trans Guyana Airways to fly 13,500 lbs. and with a passenger seating capacity of 17.
Randolph Mannie, formerly of Kuru Kuru on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, leaves to mourn his wife Gillian Mannie and their six children, Clayton, Celeste, Randy, Toyan, Rodwell and Renika.
The detached engine of the crashed aircraft lies some 30 feet away from the body of the Skyvan.
Premchand Arjune, lately a resident of Annandale, East Coast Demerara, is survived by his wife, Asha and their five children, Tony, Narisa, Lisa, Malisa and Abbas.
Three years ago, on May 3 2003, another Trans Guyana Airways aircraft, a BN-2A Islander, crash-landed near Kurupung, killing 30-year old pilot, Clement Joseph. It was reported that the aircraft experienced difficulties shortly after takeoff. Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion five minutes into Joseph’s ascent from the Kurupung Bottom Airstrip. The aircraft was transporting fuel to Imbaimadai.