Tobago Express: Our flights are safe

TOBAGO EXPRESS yesterday evening assured the travelling public that its safety track record has not been compromised, despite the emergency landing made by one of its Dash-Eight aircraft at Piarco International Airport yesterday. During a news conference at Piarco, Tobago Express general manager George Bell commended the quick work done by Capt Daniel Kawal and First Officer Barry Sadeek to bring the situation involving Flight 534 under control, without injury to any of the 46 passengers on board. Bell said yesterday’s incident was not uncommon in the airline industry and was the first time for Tobago Express. He said the incident has not compromised the integrity of the company’s five aircraft but all its planes would be grounded for inspection in accordance with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations.

The airline’s manufacturer, Canadian company Bombardier, would also be involved in the inspection of its aircraft and investigations into yesterday’s incident. Bell expressed optimism that Tobago Express would resume flights within 24 hours and said BWIA has agreed to assist with some of its passenger loads with two flights later in the evening. Tobago Express flight operations manager, Capt Russell Lee Foon, said all of the airline’s 43 pilots are well-trained to handle any contingency and received their training at top flight schools in Canada. Lee Foon added that all of Tobago Express’ flights are checked on a regular basis and Flight 534 was checked five days ago. Bell said BWIA does maintenance on Tobago Express’ planes and there was no evidence to suggest that it had overlooked any problem with Flight 534.

Bell said he did not expect the airline to suffer any financial losses during the time its flights are suspended and it was too early to say what was the cause of yesterday’s incident. He added that  some affected passengers were refunded their monies. Airports Authority acting general manager Louis McSween said all emergency systems at Piarco and relevant agencies worked exceptionally well during the incident and exceeded the response times in the recent Operation Foxtrot at the airport. McSween said approximately 15 flights were affected by the temporary closure of the airport due to the incident. Works and Transport Minister Franklin Khan said he was informed about the incident and CAA ensured that a thorough investigation will be conducted.