KWAKWANI - An Air Services Ltd. aircraft sustained wing damage after swerving to avoid hitting someone as it was about to land at the Kwakwani Airstrip, Region 10.
The incident occurred at 10:17 h today, November 9, 2013.
According Leola Narine, Assistant Regional Executive Officer (AREO), a young man who is deaf, alleged run across the airstrip just as a trainee pilot was about to land.
Luckily, neither the pilot nor the young man received any injuries. The right wing tip of the 8RA55 aircraft was damaged.
Safety inspectors from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority flew into the area and accompanied by police spoke with eyewitnesses.
Such an incident could have ended disastrously had it not been for the vigilance of the pilot, posited Minister of Public Works and Transport, Robeson Benn.
"The Ministry continues to stress the importance that an aerodrome is only for the use intended [to land aircraft]. We have been confronted with persons cutting the wires around the aerodromes to allow their animals to graze and roam free, and in many instances persons use them as roadways,“Minister Benn said. “It is a critical issue that we are wrestling with."
