Roraima Airways Chief Pilot laid to rest

Aug 03, 2017 News

The funeral service yesterday

The pilot who was involved in the deadly plane crash two Tuesdays ago at the Eteringbang airstrip was laid to rest yesterday.
Roraima Airways’ Chief Pilot, Captain Colin Martin, had a closed-casket service at the Central Assembly of God Church on Church and East Streets, Georgetown before being buried at the Le Repentir Cemetery, Georgetown.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Roraima Airways, Gerry Gouveia, noted that his company is thinking about the pilot’s daughter and her future. The company is considering a trust fund in her name to assist with her university education.
Captain Martin, around 17:30 hrs two Tuesdays ago, lost his life when the Britten-Norman Islander aircraft he was attempting to land at the Eteringbang airstrip, nose-dived into thick vegetation, a short distance from the runway.
Martin, who was flying solo, was heading to Eteringbang from Ekereku where he had shuttled fuel for miners when the tragedy occurred.
The investigation into the plane crash is still ongoing by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA)’s Accident and Emergency Unit.
On the night of the accident, Gouveia noted that he received information that the aircraft was closing off its operation for the day when the accident occurred.
He said that the pilot would have spent the night in Eteringbang and continued working Wednesday before heading to Ogle in the afternoon.
”The pilot was going in to land when the aircraft crashed. We don’t have any indication at this time what exactly transpired,” the CEO pointed out.

Colin Martin

He confirmed that there were two planes flying at the time of the accident and the authorities will have to put the pieces together.
Gouveia said there was no distress signal, since the pilot flying at the back would have noticed and radioed in. He could not say whether the aircraft flipped before it went down.
Questioned on insurance, the CEO said that the aircraft and the crew are covered, and that that was not an issue.
”He was a very experienced pilot and the star medical evacuation pilot. He saved many lives at night across Guyana,” Gouveia noted.

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