A preliminary report from aviation experts on Saturday's miraculous landing of Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight BY 523 at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, is expected to be ready in "a couple days" and further technical investigations will follow, according to Guyana's Transport Minister Robeson Benn. Benn spoke to the T&T Guardian yesterday morning about the probe by an panel of experts from Guyana, T&T and the United States. The team has launched an immediate investigation into Saturday's early morning "crash" landing. The plane ended up fractured, flat on the ground. But there were no fatalities in what US media stations including CNN and FOX News deemed a "miraculous landing." In an interview with the Guardian at around 7 am yesterday Benn said: "The plane is a beautiful aircraft but it's a total loss-even your Prime Minister was in shock when she went to see it on Saturday evening."
Benn's words corroborated the view expressed by T&T Government officials who visited the wreckage with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Saturday. Benn said the multi-disciplinary probe team, headed by Guyana's director of Air Safety Paula McAdams, comprises 15 officials. They include experts from the US National Transport Safety Board, Guyana's Aviation Safety Board, Surinamese aviation experts and other divisions, as well as T&T's head of Civil Aviation Authority, Ramesh Lutchmedial and officials of Boeing, the aircraft's manufacturers. The four Boeing officials arrived in Guyana on Saturday immediately following the crash. Benn said following the preliminary report, further technical investigations-and submission of administrative reports-a final report will be handed in. He could not give an exact date.
However, Benn assured that the situation would be completed as soon as possible. Benn said the six members of the T&T flight crew headed by captain Fareed Dean, including four female flight attendants, will remain in Guyana for interviews. He said the flight crew is expected to return home by Wednesday.
Benn said the Guyanese authorities started to remove the wreckage of the aircraft's rudder and tail but this was halted in order to do the detailed probe. Following the probe, the wreckage of the plane could either be removed to another location or brought back to T&T.
Benn denied initial widespread reports that there was fog at the airport at the time the plane landed. He, however, confirmed that there had been "light rain." Asked about the landing conditions at the Cheddi Jagan Airport, Benn said all systems were in order. He said: "Officials at the airport had done a report on all the systems at the time the accident and they are doing further probes of the protocols so we can improve in the event of a similar occurrence." Benn noted that Guyana had not experienced such an occurrence in recent times. He said the last time he recalled such a situation was in 1984 when a DC 10 aircraft landed and went off into some sand alongside the runway. All passengers were unharmed in that incident.