Several US-registered planes in Guyana grounded for records inspection

Last Updated on Thursday, 21 March 2019, 19:20 by Writer

All privately-owned United States (US)-registered aircraft authorised to operate non-commercial flights in Guyana have been grounded to allow the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) inspectors to check their maintenance records, a top official said.

GCAA Director General, Retired Lt. Col. Egbert Field told Demerara Waves Online News that five ‘N-Number’ planes were ordered to cease, temporarily, operations on Wednesday to allow for the inspections to be made. Field said that process was expected to end on Friday.

The decision to ground the planes follows the recent emergency landing of a US-registered single-engine plane that provide medical transportation services in Guyana’s interior on behalf of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

“Based on recent events, the CAA has decided to carry out an inspection of the records of these ‘N’-registered aircraft because we need to be sure that some of the maintenance requirements as to their manuals are being adhered to. So in that cautionary mode, the CAA is grounding all of them until we can inspect all of their records,” Field said. He explained that civil aviation inspectors would be checking to ascertain whether the engine time had been extended in keeping with proper procedures.

Although the planes operating here with the ‘N-Number’ registration are under the jurisdiction of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Guyana is still required to overlook them for airworthiness.

Field said the decision was part of its ongoing efforts to improve safety by ensuring those craft have accurate records.

The GCAA Director General assured that the grounded planes do not include those working in the oil sector for commercial operations.