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The plane after the crash landing

November 13 2018

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Representatives from the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Boeing Company have arrived in Guyana to assist in determining the cause of last Friday’s crash landing of a Fly Jamaica aircraft.

Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Lt. Col (Ret’d) Egbert Field disclosed that one representative of the NTSB arrived on Sunday afternoon, while two representatives from the Boeing Company arrived yesterday.

Subsequent to their arrival in Guyana, they have spent some time analysing the aircraft and the accident scene at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri.

Providing additional information on the role of the NTSB representative, Field explained that the individual is here to analyse and inspect the plane wreckage before passing his findings to an accredited representative in Washington D.C, where the organisation is headquartered.

Meanwhile, as it relates to the wreckage itself, Field on Sunday told this newspaper that the aircraft had been handed over to it operator, Fly Jamaica. Notwithstanding, he explained that the aircraft still remains under the jurisdiction of the accident investigators.

When asked if the aircraft had been removed from the crash site, Field said the task has not yet been undertaken since those who are removing it will need the right equipment to do so. He noted however, that efforts have been made to prepare the aircraft for removal.

In the meantime, the investigators were said to have had a preliminary interview with the pilot, who has since been identified as Jamaican Basil Ferguson.

It was noted, too, that the black box, which carries both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, both important elements of the investigation, has been packaged and is awaiting the next FedEx flight out of Guyana, which according to Field, may be either today or Wednesday.

At 2.21 am last Friday morning, the pilot and co-pilot of Fly Jamaica flight OJ 256, which had been en route to Toronto, Canada, indicated that there were some hydraulic problems and requested permission to return to the Timehri airport. Permission was granted and after spending an estimated 43 minutes in the air, they were able to land the plane. The aircraft, however, overshot the open runway and veered to a closed section, resulting in damage to the right wing.

There were 118 passengers and 8 crewmembers aboard and all were safely removed from the plane although about 10 persons suffered injuries while using the evacuation slide. They were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where they were treated and either discharged or transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for additional tests.

But while the investigations into the plane crash continue, some passengers are now hoping that they will soon be able to travel to Canada.

Davanan Sukhra, a passenger who previously shared with this newspaper his experience aboard the flight, explained that though he has been contacted by representatives from the airline, they have not been able to offer any assurances of when he would be able to return home to Canada.

 “They called me yesterday and I asked them about flights but all I was told is that they don’t have any flight information at this time…they are not even giving me any hope that by Wednesday or Thursday I could get a flight, nothing,” Sukhra said.

“I asked why they can’t accommodate us, even if it’s two or five at a time but they told me that they are trying to charter an aircraft to get everyone out one time, but again they aren’t sure of when this will be,” he added.

 In addition to the delay in his plans to return home, the man said he continues to suffer pain from injuries he sustained during landing.

Sukhra explained that he had to return to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital yesterday for injections to ease the pain which at this point plagues mainly his upper body.

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Elderly woman from Fly Jamaica crash landing hospitalised with brain swelling

—loses speech, mobility

The Fly Jamaica Boeing 757 after it crash landed.

—doctors say nothing more can be done

An elderly woman, who was among those aboard the Fly Jamaica aircraft that crash landed last Friday at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri is currently hospitalized after reportedly suffering severe trauma, which resulted in the swelling of the brain.

Eighty-six-year-old Rookhia Kalloo, her daughter, Lilawattie Persaud and her granddaughter, who has a disability, were among those aboard Fly Jamaica flight OJ 257, which had been en route to Toronto, Canada when it experienced hydraulic issues.

This prompted the aircraft to make an emergency landing, however, the plane overshot the runway and veered to a closed section, resulting in damage to the right wing.

When Stabroek News spoke with Persaud yesterday afternoon, she explained that her mother, who suffers from a heart condition, was taken to the Woodlands Hospital during the early morning hours of Monday, 12 November, where she remains a patient, even as doctors say they cannot do much else for her.

Detailing the events that led to Kalloo’s hospitalization, the woman said her mother had been very hysterical after the accident but did not complain of having suffered any injuries.

However, after returning home, Persaud said she noticed that Kalloo seemed somewhat disoriented and so she sought to ascertain from the woman if she was indeed okay and was told that she was not feeling well.

 As a result, a decision was made to take Kalloo to the Woodlands Hospital, where she was immediately admitted and underwent several tests.

Since the accident, Persaud said her mother has lost her ability to speak and move on her own.

 “She went to sleep but woke up different, the last time I heard my mother speak was on Sunday when I asked her if she was okay, but now she totally shut down …the doctors said that her brain is swollen and that it is shutting down and that there is nothing else they can do for her,” Persaud shared.

 Notwithstanding, Persaud says she is trying to have her mother transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital since it is costly to keep her at the Woodlands Hospital.

Added to her frustrations, however, is the fact that the airline is yet to provide any details as it relates to flights for those who are now otherwise stranded in Guyana.

“I have told them about mom’s condition and I have been trying to find out about flights and they told me I have to check with the doctors to see if she can travel,” Persaud disclosed.

Stabroek News understands that the trio had been on vacation in Guyana for four weeks prior to the accident.

 
K

It bothers to know that people still don't have health and travel insurance when they travel. With proper insurance those that are in hospital and still stranded in Guyana would have gotten emergency flight back to their home country and get top medical care.

  I heard of some of these passengers are making enormous claims about computers, i phones,jewelry ,cash and other personal belongings being stolen by the firemen. I can see they lost dry fish, pepper and some mangoes. Typical Guyanese EH!!

K
kp posted:

It bothers to know that people still don't have health and travel insurance when they travel. With proper insurance those that are in hospital and still stranded in Guyana would have gotten emergency flight back to their home country and get top medical care.

  I heard of some of these passengers are making enormous claims about computers, i phones,jewelry ,cash and other personal belongings being stolen by the firemen. I can see they lost dry fish, pepper and some mangoes. Typical Guyanese EH!!

Some might have well had some of these items in the cabin, but had to leave them behind. 

FM

Senior injured in Fly Jamaica crash landing succumbs

Rookhia Kalloo

Rookhia Kalloo, the eighty-six-year-old passenger who suffered a fractured skull following the crash-landing of a Fly Jamaica plane at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport last Friday, has died.

A family member confirmed to Stabroek News that the woman passed away at the Georgetown Public Hospital yesterday afternoon.

It was previously reported that Kalloo, who was initially admitted to the Woodlands Hospital on Monday, had suffered a skull fracture, which caused her brain to swell. It is suspected that she was hit on the head at the time of the crash landing.

Kalloo, her daughter, Lilawattie Persaud, and her granddaughter were among those aboard Fly Jamaica flight OJ 256, which had been en route to Toronto, Canada, when it experienced hydraulic issues, resulting in the pilot making an emergency landing.

Doctors at the Woodlands Hos-pital indicated to the family that there was nothing that could be done for Kalloo.

Due to the cost to continue to keep her at the private hospital, the family moved Kalloo to Georgetown Public Hospital, where she succumbed.

Persaud told this newspaper that her mother had been very hysterical after the accident but did not complain of having suffered any injuries. Hours after returning home from the airport, the daughter recalled seeing her mother being disoriented. After being questioned about her health, Kalloo told her daughter that she was not feeling well. As a result, a decision was made to take her to the Woodlands Hospital, where she was immediately admitted.

Since the accident, Persaud said her mother had lost the ability to speak and move on her own.

“She went to sleep but woke up different, the last time I heard my mother speak was on Sunday when I asked her if she was okay, but now she totally shut down… the doctors said that her brain is swollen and that it is shutting down and that there is nothing else they can do for her,” Persaud shared.

At the time of the accident, Kalloo, her daughter and granddaughter were returning to Canada after vacationing here for four weeks.

K

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