– Pilot suffers minor injuries; air-dashed to city hospital
– Aviation Authority launches investigation
BY SHEMUEL FANFAIR
Two weeks after a fatal plane incident, another domestic air carrier crashed moments after taking off from the Eteringbang airstrip in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). However, on this occasion, the pilot was rescued alive, bearing minor injuries. The pilot, Captain Dominique Waddell, was air-dashed to the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara around 14:00h on Tuesday, following a late morning crash to the Wing’s Aviation single-engine Cessna aircraft which he navigated.
Captain Dominique Waddell was said to have escaped with minor injuries as he was air-dashed to the city via at the Eugene F Correia Airport at Ogle
A Roraima Airways plane rushed to the area around 12:00h and brought the pilot to safety. He was said to have been travelling alone. Captain Waddell escaped with minor injuries and was responding to emergency medical personnel who were assessing his condition at the Ogle airport.
His muddied shoes and other belongings were seen at the emergency medical operation. Family members had anxiously rushed to the airport but were relieved to see that Captain Waddell did not suffer life-threatening injuries. This newspaper was told that the pilot is a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) rank. As such, a GDF ambulance transported him to a private medical facility after he was tended to by a team that included several Army service members.
An official attached to the Wings Aviation Company, disclosed that the pilot did not suffer any major injury and noted that the emergency response was taken as a precautionary measure.
Roraima Pilot, Captain Gerry Gouveia Junior, briefed this publication on the rescue operation.
“We had a plane in the area doing some shuttle work along with the aircraft so when we heard of the incident, our pilot was quick to respond as part of the search and rescue team. Once we were able to find the pilot, we brought him out immediately to Georgetown,” the pilot disclosed.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) later in day pointed out that it has launched an investigation to “ascertain the circumstances leading to the crash of a single engine CESSNA aircraft – bearing registration number 8R-GPR.” GCAA confirmed that the crash time was registered at approximately 11:00h. Based on reports received, the Wings Aviation plane was on a shuttling mission from Eteringbang to Ekereku when the incident occurred.
The Aviation body further noted that officials from the Accident and Investigation Group assisted by a GCAA team visited the crash site to commence investigations. On July 25, Captain Collin Martin, a retired Guyana Defence Force Major, was piloting a Roraima Airways aircraft when it crashed killing him almost instantly.
