GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept. 24, 2014 – Four passengers onboard a Cessna 206 belonging to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) are said to be nursing minor injuries when the army carrier they were travelling in reportedly ran off the airstrip in an interior location.
Guyana Aviation understands that the army pilot encountered difficulty when landing at the New River military location situated in the south-east of the country, in the Amuku-Acarai highlands. The incident occurred around mid-afternoon 1700 GMT on Wednesday.
Information is that the GDF 3, a Cessna 206 had been found at Bartica some years ago and was acquired by the army.
The plane left the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri for Camp Jaguar and ran off the edge of the runway on landing.
Unconfirmed reports are that the pilot, Captain Dalgety, had recently received approval to fly into the military location unsupervised.
The New River terrain is rugged − a maze of steep-sided slopes, narrow valleys and numerous hills and ridges with heights up to 300m.
Guyana Aviation understands that the aircraft would have suffered moderate damage.
The New River location which forms the watershed boundary between Guyana and Brazil is about 6000 square miles and also boarders the Dutch speaking nation of Suriname with whom Guyana has had a dispute over the location since the early 1930s.
Recently, when mining operations were being conducted by a Brazilian mining company, additional pressure was brought to Guyana locally and from Dutch neighbors. Military presence had once again increased at the location.
The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is said to be investigating. They told Guyana Aviation that the New River area is generally regarded as a military zone.
Source: guyanaaviation.com
