Missing aircraft mystery…

Nov 05, 2008 News

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Aviation expert slams ‘lethargic’ search and rescue operation

By Michael Jordan

A top aviation expert has slammed the ‘lethargic’ search and rescue operation that was launched by local authorities for the US-registered twin-engine aircraft which vanished in the Mazaruni area four days ago.
The expert stated that the search should have begun at least two hours after contact was lost with the pilot.
“We should have responded within two hours (maximum).
“If the plane crashed and caught fire, we would have seen the smoke.
“When you wait too long the smoke would vanish. We should have gone out a lot earlier. “Within one to two hours the maximum. We only responded the next day, which was absolutely terrible. By that time, if there was fire it would have disappeared. They lost all visual traces.”
According to the expert, the authorities should have requested that the GDF Skyvan be dispatched to the area immediately after learning of the disappearance of the plane.
“The GDF Skyvan is the aircraft that should have responded. The Skyvan would have been in the area by 5:30pm (but) our search and rescue system collapsed. Nothing happened between 4:00 pm on Saturday and 11:00 hrs the next day, which is unacceptable. The response was lethargic.”
Press reports had stated that two British helicopters had been dispatched to the area on Saturday.
But the source refuted this report, saying that the area where the aircraft is believed to have disappeared was out of the range of the British helicopters.
Explaining the importance of a quick response, the source, who declined to be identified, said that the victims could still be alive as was the case with the woman and child who survived a crash in the Mazaruni last year.
According to the expert, pilots usually carry transmitting sets with which they could have communicated to rescuers. However, the batteries would eventually run down.
“You could also have had someone alive who could have shot a flare or used a radio.
The GDF chopper or the Skyvan…could have picked up flare or radio communication.”
According to the source, the army aircraft could also have picked up signals from a tracking device with which the missing aircraft is equipped.
“If it (the plane) crashes, it (the device) sends out a signal, but that battery could die if you take too long to respond. The nature of the crash could shorten the life of the battery.
“The chances of people crashing and surviving are there and that is why quick response is important. Every second counts.”
The aviation source described the Mazaruni area where the plane is believed to have disappeared as one of the most difficult terrains for pilots to navigate.
“That area is one of the most hostile areas to fly in Guyana. It is a rugged, mountainous area; you have to have an idea of the geography.”
Asked to speculate about the possible fate of the crew and passengers, the source said that it is unlikely that the pilot could have lost his way, since the aircraft is equipped with sophisticated navigational equipment. He speculated that both engines could have failed, possibly because of the use of contaminated fuel.
The expert also speculated that the pilot could have entered the clouds and accidentally flown into a mountain, due to his inexperience in flying in Guyana. And according to the expert, the missing plane is a “high-speed, high performance twin turbine aircraft”, which would be unable to land on practically all of Guyana’s interior airstrips.
“It could only land on possibly one jungle airstrip that is at Kamarang.
The others, including the one at Imbaimadai, are too short. By now we would have known if they had landed safely.” The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air was doing uranium survey work for Prometheus Resources Guyana Inc., a subsidiary of U308 Corp. of Toronto.
Those aboard the plane are pilot James Barker, First Officer Chris Paris and Canadian technician Patrick Murphy.
Barker and Paris are American citizens. Minister of Transport, Public Works and Communication, Robeson Benn, said on Sunday that seven aircraft were dispatched to the area.
According to the Minister, almost the entire surveying area was flown over at varying degrees, while landing strips within the area were checked.
However, weather conditions caused some amount of hindrance to the search-and-rescue operations.
Kaieteur News was told that the plane was flying over rough terrain when it disappeared.
Reports stated that the control tower at Timehri made contact with the occupants at 14:15 hrs on Saturday.
The plane, which departed from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, was scheduled to return at 18:15hrs. When the plane failed to show, authorities dispatched the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Skyvan along with planes from private airline companies, as well as two British helicopters which are currently in Guyana as part of a GDF/ British Army training programme, to the area to determine the whereabouts of the plane.
Assistance has since been sought from the South American Satellite System, but no electronic signal has as yet been picked up.

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