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Plane crash victims reject ASL “meager” compensation
Passengers on board the Cessna Caravan 8R-AMS which crashed at Mathew’s Ridge a few weeks ago are dissatisfied with the “meager” compensation that the aircraft’s operators are offering them.
The ill-fated Cessna Caravan that crashed near the Matthews Ridge Airstrip.
Attorney Melvin Duke told Kaieteur News that the amount that the aircraft owner, Air Services Limited (ASL), is offering his clients is not enough.
He added that the offer is insufficient since passengers are led to believe via their plane ticket that their insurance coverage is far more than what the company is giving.
Duke said that ASL was prepared to pay the passengers GY$150,000. But after expressing their dissatisfaction, the amount was raised to GY$200,000. But this too is insufficient, he said.
The ticket states that the passengers can claim a maximum of US$50,000 ($GY10M) once they aircraft is involved in any one accident, while the airline could pay out up to US$2M ($GY40M), Duke stated.
In a draft to ASL, the lawyer pointed out that airlines specifically designate cash for mishaps. He mentioned that last year, a passenger on board a regional airline from Port-of- Spain, Trinidad to Guyana was awarded US$3,000 (G$600,000) when she got sick after drinking from a dirty glass.
This, he said, is a plane crash and persons are being offered “meager compensation”.
Duke stated however that his clients are awaiting another offer from the airline operators before taking any other steps.
Clinton Campbell, 30, and Troy Henry, 25, are seeking compensation for minor injuries sustained and trauma endured as a result of the accident.
They claimed that the flight encountered problems after takeoff and during the landing process. Campbell is a father of two and has a pregnant wife. He said he is unable to work because he received injuries to his hand, while Henry also received injuries, but has no family to maintain.
A female pilot and nine other passengers were injured when the aircraft went down near the Mathews Ridge airstrip. Reports said that the aircraft was flying in heavily overcast conditions.
According to initial investigations Captain Feriel Ally was not informed of weather change.
It was said that after arriving at Matthew’s Ridge with poor visibility, the pilot circled the airstrip three times, and while circling a fourth time, one of the wings clipped a tree. She reportedly switched off the fuel pumps as the plane went down. This, it is believed prevented the plane from bursting into flames when it crashed.
The pilot, who had been flying the ill fated Cessna caravan for a year, has been suspended and is not allowed to fly until she is cleared by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.
It was noted that the Cessna is more complex machine than the Britten-Norman BN 2 Islander, which the pilot had previously flown.
ASL covered medical bills for the passengers and disbursed approximately $600,000 to cover incidental expenses and transportation costs.
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