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Domestic Airways CEO survives Aricheng plane crash
…as GCAA launches investigation
(Kaieteur News) – Domestic Airways Chief Executive Officer and pilot, Orlando Charles, escaped with minor injuries on Sunday after the aircraft he was flying crashed during take-off from the Aricheng Airstrip in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district (Region Seven).
Reports indicate that the accident occurred at approximately 07:50 hrs.
The aircraft piloted by Orlando Charles crashed shortly after take-off from the Aricheng Airstrip in Region Seven.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has since launched an investigation into the incident. In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the authority said the accident involved a Cessna 182P aircraft bearing registration number N9347G.
Preliminary reports indicate there were no fatalities.
“The GCAA assures the public that it is working closely with relevant stakeholders to determine the cause of the accident,” the agency stated.
Airways CEO and pilot Orlando Charles escaped with minor injuries after his aircraft crashed during take-off from the Aricheng Airstrip on Sunday.
The crash marks the second aviation accident in Guyana’s hinterland within the past two months.
In April, Nicaraguan pilot Ryder Alberto Castillo was killed when the Cessna Caravan aircraft, 8R-YAC, owned by Air Services Limited (AS L), crashed into a mountain in Region Eight shortly after departing the Mahdia Airstrip. Members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) recovered Castillo’s body three days later.
Sunday’s accident is also the third Domestic Airways aircraft crash in Region Seven since 2019.
One of those incidents proved fatal. In February 2019, a Domestic Airways Cessna 206 aircraft, 8R-GHB, crashed while approaching the Eteringbang Airstrip along the Cuyuni River, killing pilot Randy Liverpool.
Charles, who is also the CEO of Domestic Airways, was later fined after pleading guilty to failing to provide information relating to that accident to the Ministry of Labour’s Occupational Health and Safety Department. Investigators, however, concluded that Liverpool had been flying too low before the crash.
Pilot Bernard Singh after being rescued in October 2019 when a Domestic Airways aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Aricheng.
Just months later, in October 2019, another Domestic Airways aircraft—a Piper PA-31, registration 8R-HAI—crashed in the Region Seven jungle shortly after taking off from Aricheng. Pilot Bernard Singh survived with minor injuries and was subsequently rescued by a GDF team.
Following Sunday’s crash, a Guyanese pilot commenting on social media noted that “interior flying in Guyana remains one of the most demanding forms of aviation anywhere in the world,” citing remote airstrips, rapidly changing weather conditions, rugged terrain and limited infrastructure as persistent challenges faced by pilots operating in the hinterland.
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