Guyana Defence Force Rescues Pilot Following Small Plane Crash

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, February 19, 2019 (CMC) – Members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) yesterday, rescued the pilot of the single-engine Cessna plane that crashed, Monday, as it headed to Georgetown from the town of Mabaruma.

The plane that belongs to a US Medical missionary group, was on a medical evacuation mission at the time of the incident.

According to Director-General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Egbert Field, the United States-registered plane ran out of fuel and went down, just a few miles from the airport.

Demerara Waves online reports that after an almost five-hour operation, that included the Guyana Defence Force Air Corps and ground troops, Captain Lincoln Gomez and a policeman, Michael Grimmond, were rescued and flown, by army helicopter, to Georgetown.

Gomez was rushed, by GDF ambulance, to the Georgetown Public Hospital, while Grimmond was taken to the privately-owned St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital.

The GCAA says the plane was on a mission, to get the corpse of an American missionary, who died while climbing a mountain, however, the body was left at the crash site.

The plane was transporting the body, from the interior of the country, to the Eugene F. Correia ‘Ogle’ International Airport, when the mishap occurred.

The plane, bearing US registration markings, N8 704T, is operated by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, to provide emergency medical evacuation services, mainly from the interior.