Bird strike forces Fly All Ways to cancel Guyana-Cuba flight

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 December 2024, 20:04 by Writer

A small bird strike in one of the engines of a Fly All Ways aircraft on Wednesday forced the Cuba-bound flight to return to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on an emergency landing after the pilot reported smelling something burning, officials said.

Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham said firefighters, who are routinely deployed in such conditions as a precautionary measure, did not see any smoke or flames when the plane landed.

Deputy Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Saheed Sulaman said the plane arrived from Suriname at the CJIA from Suriname with a “few passengers” who deplaned “without any issue” and the “aircraft had no issue.”

Mr Sulaman said the aircraft subsequently departed for Cuba with a stop in the Dominican Republic but was forced to return to CJIA. “Ten minutes into the flight, the aircraft reported that it was coming back to CJIA because of technical reasons. The aircraft departed at that time with the Cuban passengers and brought them back and deplaned them,” he said.

The GCAA official refuted claims in a section of the media that that there was fire in the engine because the aircraft would have been unable to depart back to Suriname for maintenance.

“The captain did not ask for any assistance on the ground. It’s just that he smelled something, a scent, and he didn’t want to take chances. He came back. Everything was OK with the aircraft on the ground when they checked but out of pure precaution he returned to base in Suriname to have the aircraft checked out. The report from Fly All Ways in Suriname is that there was a mini bird strike. They found a small bird in one of the engines,” the GCAA Director-General said. He said Suriname’s Civil Aviation Authority is expected to send a copy of its report to the GCAA.

Demerara Waves Online News was told that the plane arrived at the CJIA at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday and departed 1:51 a.m. It returned to the CJIA at 2:16 a.m. and departed at 5:50 a.m. for Suriname’s Johan Pengel International Airport.

Senior officials in the aviation sector said the stranded passengers were booked on other airlines to Cuba.

Cubans no longer travel to Guyana in large numbers for shopping, but do so mainly for immigration appointments with the United States embassy.