What was believed to be the wreckage of a small aircraft that washed up off Penal has been identified instead as parts of a rocket.Director general of the T&T Civil Aviation Authority Ramesh Lutchmedial said the wreckage was in fact components from a rocket released by the Arianespace Company in French Guiana and not a small white aircraft as initially thought.Around 10.30 am on Saturday Penal police received a report that lifeguards training along the Quinam Beach found parts of an aircraft.
The National Security helicopter, Viper I, was dispatched to search for the rest of the wreckage, but failed to locate it.Hours later, Sgt Jones and other police trekked three miles from the Quinam Beach and found the parts scattered about the rocky shoreline.
They said they found no signs of a crash or craters, which meant the wreckage had washed ashore. It bore signs in a foreign language which prompted them to contact the Civil Aviation Authority. In an interview, Lutchmedial dismissed fears that the parts were from a crashed plane after a team of investigators from the authority visited the wreckage. He explained the wreckage was a result of staging–when the rocket releases excess weight such as empty tanks and associated engines during the launch–which falls into the ocean.
He said these were not the first rocket parts washed ashore in T&T as the Arianespace company often launches rockets from the Spaceport in Kourou.
He assured that the wreckage poses no health risk and said it has no commercial value because it is made from composite materials. Lutchmedial said, "There is the Arianespace Centre launch site in French Guiana and they conduct launches there. If you know anything about rockets, they have different stages and in every stage a part is burnt out and it falls into sea and washes to shore. We always get pieces, but it does not pose any threat to human lives."
However, he said it remains at the beach and it could be "finders keepers," as it is not part of any criminal investigation. As to whose duty it is to remove the wreckage, both Lutchmedial and public relations officer of the T&T Coast Guard Kirk Jean-Baptiste said it was not their responsibility.
Civil military affairs officer of the Defence Force Major Al Alexander said he would inquire whether the army should move the wreckage.Chairman of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) Joth Singh said the Maritime Services Division might be responsible for removing the wreckage, as its jurisdiction extended from the shore to the sea.
