Monday January 20, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 17
Guyana’s jungle a treacherous place for aviators The pilot who crashed a Trans Guyana Airway’s Cessna Caravan in the Mazaruni is just the latest in a long list of aviators who have fallen victim to Guyana’s hazardous jungle territory. And in some cases, the victims have never been found. In May 1981, Henry Fitt, one of the leading pilots of the time, and a member of the famous Fitt aviation family, was given the task of flying five British nationals on a sight-seeing trip in the interior. According to reports, the foreigners had wanted to see Mount Roraima, located on the border with Venezuela and Brazil. On board the Cessna 206 were Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Goodman of Stafford, England; Jerry Golda of London; Stephen Mulley of Essex; and Gerry Coe of Bath.
The four men were Quantity Surveyors with Sir William Halcrow Ltd., a British consulting firm working on the Tapacuma, MMA drainage and irrigation projects. Aviation officials last made contact with the plane at around 9:35 a.m. on the day of the flight. At the time, the Cessna was over Phillipai Village in the Mazaruni, on its way to Kamarang. But the plane never arrived at its destination. Efforts to make contact with the pilot were futile. Director of Civil Aviation, Aubrey Alexander, spearheaded a search, which included a team drawn from the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Airways Corporation. The pilot of another aircraft reported that he had been in contact with the
missing Cessna, and that the winds coming from the west at the time were at 100 degrees with a velocity of 30 knots. The search continued the following day with the same result, and eventually, local aviation and Government officials were forced to seek overseas assistance. Fourteen members of the United States Air Rescue Unit, eight aircraft with Guyanese aviation officials and several privately owned aircraft joined the air and ground search. An aircraft from the Trinidad and Tobago Air Rescue Unit also joined the team after four days of fruitless searching. The Guyana Government also appealed to their Brazilian counterparts for assistance. And despite the border controversy, permission was granted by
Monday January 20, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Today might not go down in history as the most exciting twenty four hours of your life, but your routine will be thrown on its ear for at least part of the day. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Surprise someone with a sweet show of affection and compliments today! Even if you barely know them, you can really brighten their day by letting them know you like their haircut or that they've got a great laugh. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): This is the perfect day to catch up on your correspondence -- why not do something crazy like write someone a letter? ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Today is a very good day for tackling any major clean up projects you've been putting off -- including picking up clutter around the house, organizing your office cubicle, or clearing up a misunderstanding between you and a friend. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): When it comes to building up your finances, you can't rely strictly on advice from friends! If you want to get serious about money issues, then you have to get serious about researching them. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): Someone might challenge one of your beliefs or opinions today, and some of the things they say will make sense!
********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22): You're in a very openminded phase of life, and could be changing your opinions about a lot of diverse issues -- this is a sign of healthy growth, but it might confuse your friends and family. ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): One of your closest friend's emotions are right on the surface today -- so be very sensitive around them. It's anyone's guess which name or word will set them off, so it's best to stick to small talk and safe topics unless you want to get into a heated discussion. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Planning your next romantic move can be a blast, but try not to get too caught up in the details of everything -- you will drive yourself crazy trying to get everything to line up perfectly. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): As soon as you can find the facts you are seeking, your recent project will kick into high gear! ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): There is joy beneath the surface of everything right now, and you are in the exact right frame of mind to see it! ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): If you are just about finished with a major project or getting awfully close to reaching an important goal, today is the day you need to put in one final push to finally get it all done!
Pilot Henry Fitt. His plane and passengers were never found
Still Missing: Captain James Wesley Barker
Missing: First Officer Chris Paris
Venezuelan officials manning the Magatir Tower in Caracas, Venezuela, for the rescue aircraft to fly over areas controlled by the Venezuelan authorities. Two of the missing pilot’s nephews, who were also pilots, came from overseas to join in the search for their uncle and his five passengers. Eventually, after several weeks without seeing any trace of the plane, aviation authorities reluctantly called off the search. In Guyana, a
memorial service was held for Henry Fitt. At the time, aviation authorities suggested that the powerful winds could have blown Fitt off course. They suggested that although he had vast experience flying in the interior, the pilot would have assumed that he was over Phillipai Village, where he was supposed to have landed, when he was fact in another location. On January 6, 2001, Army pilot, Captain Vickram Nandan, Lieutenant Floyd
David Gittens and building contractor, Ravindranauth Sharma, perished when the BN2 Islander that Nandan was flying slammed into Ebini Mountain, some 4.5 miles west of Mahdia. Nandan, Gittens and three passengers had departed Timehri at 06:15 hrs on January 6 and arrived at Kato at 07:30 hrs. The Army said the aircraft left Kato five minutes later for Mahdia. Sharma, the contractor on board, had chartered the plane to take building materials from Timehri to Kato, near the border with Brazil in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni). He was contracted under the Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) to build a Nursery/ Primary School at Kato. On November 1, 2008, Captain James Wesley Barker, 28, First Officer Chris Paris, 23, both US citizens, and Canadian Patrick Murphy, a Geophysics Technician, headed from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in a Beechcraft King aircraft for the interior. Their mission: to conduct aerial surveys on behalf of Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc. a Canadian Company that was hoping to locate uranium deposits in the vicinity of Chi Chi, Cuyuni/ Mazaruni. The aircraft had enough fuel for five hours 30 minutes flying and the crew was scheduled to conduct their survey in the Chi-Chi/ Imbaimadai area for approximately four hours 30 minutes before returning to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. At 15:06 hrs, the crew reported to the Control Tower at the airport that they were commencing normal operations over the survey area. No further reports were received from the aircraft. Officials from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) were alerted to the crisis, and the longest and Guyana’s most intense search for a missing aircraft began. The initial search team included the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Air-Corp and (Continued on page 18)