CAL plane in landing drama

The incident occurred around 7.40 am on the international apron.

There was no fatality and no one was reported injured, director general of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Col (retired) Egbert Field, told Newsday yesterday.

The tail cone is the exhaust for the auxiliary power unit, which is a small jet engine used to start the larger engines. It is usually at the very rear of the aircraft below the tail. The crew of both aircraft were also on the ground awaiting interviews, Field said. At the time of the incident, Fly Jamaica’s Boeing 767- 2000 was being prepared for boarding.

Field said both aircraft would not be able to leave Guyana until preliminary investigations were completed, repairs done and they were certified as being air-worthy.

Asked if the Fly Jamaica aircraft was not where it should be, Field said he did not know and investigations were ongoing. Nevertheless, he said, he has asked that the aircraft remain in position so that investigators could carry out their tasks which will include measurements and to see whether the aircraft was properly parked. “All of these will be addressed in the investigations and will come out in the report,” he said.

A CAL release said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft (flight BW 527) from JFK International, New York, to Guyana was involved in an incident on the ramp. “All passengers and crew were safely disembarked.

The aircraft has since been temporarily withdrawn from service and all appropriate inspections and procedures, along with an investigation, are in progress,” CAL said.