Preliminary probe...
Engine trouble blamed for Skyvan plane crash
by Mark Ramotar
Guyana Chronicle
November 12, 2003
THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) yesterday indicated that based on preliminary investigation so far on last Saturday's plane crash, in which two of the seven persons aboard the Skyvan died, it was quite clear that the right engine of the aircraft failed during flight.
Airworthiness Inspector of the GCAA, Mr. Clifton Bedaysie also told reporters that the GCAA cannot ascertain, at this point in time, the exact altitude of the aircraft when it encountered difficulties.
Bedaysie, who noted that several factors would have to be considered before it can be ascertain the exact cause of the crash, pointed out that this is the second Skyvan to have crash in Guyana, since the first one which was owned by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) had crashed some years back.
Bedaysie also noted that the Skyvan aircraft was designed and built and certificated to such standard that "normally if you have a twin engine aircraft and one engine fails, then the aircraft should be able to continue the flight or come back and landed, that's normal".
But according to Rampaul, the most critical phase of a flight is whether your aircraft is taking off at full power and whether "just after takeoff, while you're on the runway, one engine stopped".
Asked whether there is a likelihood that human error could have caused the crash, from the preliminary investigations so far, Rampaul told a news conference at the GCAA office in Prashad Nagar, Georgetown yesterday afternoon that he is not in a position to answer that question since the investigation is still in its infancy stage. He, however, said that "we are still very open (and that) it is possible".
"We don't know. It is only our analysis that will show to us whether there is a contribution of human error to the accident," he said.
Asked how many other Skyvans we currently have in service in Guyana, Mr. Bedaysie said there are two others, which are operated by the GDF.
Mr. Rampaul also indicated that the GCAA are still in the process of interviewing a lot of people on the ground (especially in Sophia village). "Once we get all those information in, we would be in a better position to say what was the cause of the crash' he said.
Mr. Bedaysie also indicated that the loads that were on the aircraft at the time of the crash are currently in the possession of the GCAA and the manifest that would have had the loads, the definitions and the weights are also in their possession.
Asked whether the weights were over the specified limit, Mr. Rampaul said, "All we can say right now is that there was a generator but our calculations conclude that we were within our norms up to now".
Mr. Bedaysie also indicated that the maximum takeoff weight for these aircrafts was 13, 500 lbs.
He also indicated that the report of the preliminary investigations should be out within 30 days after last Saturday's crash and when the investigation started.
He also noted that although the aircraft was 19 years old, it was still ranked as 'averaged' based on its flying hours. In this regard, he pointed out that the 15,000 flying hours for the Skyvans are considered "average age".
The two GCAA officials also confirmed that two international experts from the United Kingdom were flown into the country to assist local counterparts into the investigations of last Saturday's plane crash, which claimed the life of two persons.
Following a request from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the UK authorities promptly responded and two experts - one from the Department of Transport and the other from the UK Aircraft Accident Investigation Board - arrived here last night.
Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Works, Mr. Ajay Baksh, informed the Guyana Chronicle on Monday that based on this new development several changes will be made relating to the investigation.
Contrary to previous announcements, the voice cockpit recording will no longer be sent to Trinidad for analysis but will instead be flown to the National Transport Safety Board in the USA, along with the engine, for a thorough investigation there.
Eyewitness accounts are that one of the engines had failed.
Mr. Baksh also noted that the parts of the plane scattered along the site would not be moved to a hanger as was previously announced. Instead, these will remain as is for the high profile team. They are expected to commence their work today, almost immediately after touchdown.
According to Baksh, the grid was completed on the crash site and it determined that the plane crashed one and a half miles from the airstrip.