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AIR DASH! Pilots escape out of Guyana with two planes

 

– Hopscotch around the Caribbean undetected

By Alva Solomon
THE authorities here are actively probing the unauthorised departure of two Cessna aircraft from the Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA) at Ogle which occurred before daybreak Saturday.

One of the Cessna 206 aircraft at the centre of the matter.

One of the Cessna 206 aircraft at the centre of the matter.

 

Reports are that two Cessna 206 model aircraft bearing registration 8R-GMP and 8R-GTP left Ogle prior to sunrise (5:30 am) without the relevant air traffic clearances for departure. The pilots, who passed through the airport shortly after 04:00 hrs, also breached immigration and customs regulations in the process.

The two aircraft which are owned by Oxford Aviation, left for the Caribbean island of Grenada early Saturday.

They were flown by the pilot and owner of the company, Munidat Persaud aka “Raj “and another pilot whose name was given only as “Vladimir.” On their way to Grenada, the pilots flew through Trinidad’s airspace undetected and without permission.

Reports out of Trinidad suggest that the pilots skilfully flew under the radar of the authorities on the twin-island republic. As they approached Grenada, the men informed air traffic control on the Spice Island that they were inbound to that island from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The move was meant to deliberately throw the authorities there off-guard, since it would have indicated that they were flying from a northern direction rather than from these shores. According to reports from aviation sources, the pilots then island-hopped their way until the aircraft were detained farther north on the island of Anguilla.

At Ogle, the pilots presented their airport passes to security, boarded the planes and took off and aviation sources reported that the planes’ departure went undetected until a party in a court matter involving Oxford Aviation raised an alarm during the day on Saturday.

Minister within the Ministry of Public infrastructure, Annette Ferguson told the Guyana Chronicle that she was fully briefed on the incident by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). She confirmed that there is a High Court matter involving the aircraft which bars their owners from leaving Guyana.

That matter involves an incident which occurred at the Region Seven airstrip at Ekereku near the Venezuela border in which one of the two aircraft in question ran into another Cessna aircraft, registered as 8R-GHJ, a Cessna 172. The latter aircraft, which is owned by pilot Orlando Charles of Domestic Aviation, sustained structural damage during the incident and that matter has been in the courts for some time.

Airport spokesman Kit Nascimento told this publication Saturday that there had been no breach of security at the airport, as the men presented their security passes and were allowed to visit the planes.

“They told security that they were going to put something on board,” he noted. He said the men then proceeded to take off without filing flight plans or notifying anyone at customs, immigration or air traffic services.

Nascimento stressed that the airport management has no authority to stop an operator from departing the airport but rather, that responsibility rests with the GCAA. In addition, he said the airport was unaware of the court matter involving the company.

He added that the incident will be reviewed, but he stopped short of saying if it will see a rearrangement of aircraft pilots’ access to the airside at all times.

Guyana ‘s air traffic control services does not provide radar coverage, but rather handling based on radio communications with pilots, a form of air traffic control (ATC) known as procedural air traffic control. According to ATC sources, the pilots had planned their departure diligently, catering mainly for fuel stops along the trip.

At Ogle, the pilots usually request an ATC clearance to operate outside the airport’s boundaries from the tower at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri. To fly outside of Guyana, such requests are made days in advance and would require coordination between Guyana and the ATC agencies in the countries whose airspace the aircraft would transit.

Aviation sources reported that the operator is also indebted to several persons here and Saturday’s ultimate destination may have been the United States, where he operates a flight school.

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This man is running from a legal action. One thing I know is on entry into the US he will be held and interrogated and if the Guyanese government want him for any infraction they will get him per recent agreements.

FM
Bibi Haniffa posted:
The move was meant to deliberately throw the authorities there off-guard, since it would have indicated that they were flying from a northern direction rather than from these shores. According to reports from aviation sources, the pilots then island-hopped their way until the aircraft were detained farther north on the island of Anguilla.
Meaning they get ketched??
 
 

 

Nascimento stressed that the airport management has no authority to stop an operator from departing the airport but rather, that responsibility rests with the GCAA. In addition, he said the airport was unaware of the court matter involving the company.

Unacceptable in this day/age.

cain
Last edited by cain

Stealth flight plane grounded in Anguilla

-other allowed to depart

June 27, 2016 Source

One of two planes that left Guyana illegally under the cover of darkness on Saturday has been given clearance to leave Anguilla and the other was grounded in the British overseas territory, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson has said.

“One was allowed to leave because one aircraft has airworthiness, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) certification, and there was no reason that they could hold or ground it any longer. The other was not airworthy and that one is grounded,” Patterson told Stabroek News last evening.

He said that government will wait on a report – due early this week – of the incident, before deciding on what actions will be taken locally and internationally. The spiriting away of the planes has raised serious questions about regulatory controls.

Around 4am on Saturday morning, two Cessna 206 aircraft, bearing registration numbers 8R-GTP and 8R-GMP and owned by Oxford Aviation, took off from the Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA).

They did not have the necessary Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) clearance and permission to fly while there is a High Court injunction in place barring the aircraft from leaving this jurisdiction. That court matter stemmed from another company, Domestic Airways, owned by pilot Orlando Charles, filing litigation for payment for damage reportedly caused by one of the Oxford Aviation planes.

It was reported that two operators from Oxford Aviation, its owner Munidat ‘Raj’ Persaud and a pilot he brought from the United States, presented their airside passes to the airport security stating that they were going to place some items on the aircraft and later took off without warning. The planes stopped in Grenada before leaving for Anguilla.

However, the aircraft were unable to leave Anguilla as Guyana had raised an alarm of the airspace regulation infractions here. Stabroek News understands that the planes were bound for the United States, where Persaud owns and operates a private charter service. One plane was subsequently allowed to leave.

Concerns have since been raised as to why the EFCIA tower did not notice the planes leaving and about the fact that they were only discovered missing some five hours later.

Patterson yesterday explained that while EFCIA is an international airport, it works on specified schedules and unlike the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), the tower there does not require the same round-the-clock manning.

Further, he pointed out that GCAA was served a writ from the High Court notifying the agency of the court matter, and, as such, directives were given to the towers of both airports to not grant flight clearance for the Oxford-owed planes.

The minister said the detailed probe will examine all the circumstances and processes relating to the events and the court matter, and after analysis, GCAA and government will determine its course of action.

As such, he did not want to speculate on how the planes were approved to land at other airports or how clearances were given for them to depart those locations. How Guyana will legally deal with the two pilots will also be determined after the report is presented and analysed.

However, sources in the airline industry said that the incident is a blatant violation of international and local civil aviation rules and could see both pilots banned from flying in addition to facing the courts on several criminal charges.

Spokesperson for EFCIA, Kit Nacimento has also pointed out that no flight plan was filed by the operators although they are obligated to do so and there were no requests for the runway lights to be turned on, although they took off before sunrise.

Django

Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA) sounds like a safe airport.  This issue will be brushed under the rug in no time.  This is the same airport dem PNC boys does fly dem private plane out of in the dark hours of the night.  They don't want this kind of attention.

Bibi Haniffa

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