Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 April 2026, 19:09 by Writer
A Nicaraguan pilot was confirmed dead on Monday when Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Special Forces reached the site of the plane that went down three days ago deep in Guyana’s rugged mountainous and jungle terrain, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said.
“The team recovered the body of the pilot and are currently making preparations for extraction from the site,” the authority said in a statement.
Captain Rider Castillo was a former Nicaraguan military pilot.
The Air Services Limited (ASL)-owned Cessna 208 aircraft, with registration marking 8R-YAC, disappeared from communication Friday morning while on a shuttle flight from Mahdia to Imabaimadai.
The mangled aircraft was spotted by air by a search and rescue team hours later.
However, authorities said due to the rugged terrain in which the plane went down, getting there by air was extremely risky.
The GDF Special Forces mission landed elsewhere by helicopter and walked to reach the crash site.
An accident investigator has been appointed by aviation minister Deodat Indar to probe the cause of the crash.
The incident occurred just days after the GCAA Director-General, Retired Lt. Col. met with all pilots, but it was not immediately clear whether all domestic carriers were represented.
ASL was recently given the green light to resume flights to Matthews Ridge by experienced pilots.
That airline has asked to participate in and provide its information to GCAA representatives who were probing an incident involving another of its planes.
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