Fly Jamaica focuses on repatriation of passengers

– cooperating with investigators

Days after a Boeing 757 aircraft operated by Fly Jamaica crash-landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the airline in a release on Sunday stated that at this point in time, its focus was the repatriation of the 120 passengers who were onboard.
The flight, OJ256 left Guyana for Toronto, Canada about 02:10h on Friday morning, but after encountering hydraulic issues, it returned to the CJIA where it crash-landed about 2:53h.
The airline acknowledged the courage of all on board and, more specifically, those who were injured during the evacuation. They sustained spinal injuries while deplaning.
The owner of the airline, Mrs Roxanne Reece and other executives visited the injured persons at the hospital on Sunday. Their conditions have been listed as

stable.
Guyana Times understands that most of the passengers were transported to their respective homes in Guyana and some were checked into a hotel. In addition, a few have already left Guyana on a Caribbean Airlines flight.
Fly Jamaica executives and the pilots on board the aircraft at the time of the unfortunate incident are cooperating fully with the authorities to find all the answers. “It is too early to comment on the cause of the accident, but we are cooperating…,” the release added.
The airline also extended gratitude to the various agencies for their proficient response on the day in question. These included the Public Infrastructure Ministry and its head; the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA); the management and staff of the CJIA; the Guyana Defence Force; the Guyana Police Force and the Timehri Handling Service (THS).
Although, the Guyana Fire Service was the first responders to the crash site, the airline did not recognise this owing to the fact that the firemen have caused embarrassment to themselves and the Fire Service for their despicable acts of theft.
GCAA Director General Egbert Fields has confirmed that the Fly Data Recorder (Black Box) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (Pink Box) are expected to leave Guyana today for decoding by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States.
These two pieces of equipment, he added, are important to determine what transpired on the morning of November 9, 2018.
Col Field assured that the airport’s operations have not been affected, as flights have been taking off and landing as per normal. He stated that the crash site was

still being processed.
Meanwhile, the airline has said that it has opened its call centres around the clock, and was contacting passengers with flight reservations through November 14. Arrangements have been made with Caribbean Airlines to have the passengers transported to their destinations.
On Friday at a press conference, the GCAA Director also stated that a team of investigators led by Paula McAdam has been conducting the preliminary investigations into the crash. The findings, he added, will take some time to be compiled and presented to the authorities.
With respect to the accusation of theft, at least 14 firefighters who were implicated in removing several devices belonging to the crew and passengers are still being grilled by Police ranks. It is believed that as the firefighters got access to the aircraft, they removed the items.
One of the firemen reportedly returned some of the stolen items while some were found at the Timehri Fire Station. Once found culpable, the men will be charged and placed before the courts.