Two Americans, one Canadian on board
Aerial searches yesterday failed to yield any sign of the US-registered plane that disappeared on Saturday, with two Americans and a Canadian onboard who were conducting geophysical surveys for a Canadian mining company in the Cuyuni area.
The company’s permanent base camp at Aricheng Airstrip.
The aircraft, a Beech King Air, last made contact with the Control Tower at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri at 3:06pm on Saturday to report that they were commencing normal operations over the survey area. On board were pilot, Captain James Wesley Barker, 28, and First Officer Chris Paris, 23, both US citizens and Canadian Patrick Murphy, a Geophysics technician.
Intermittent bad weather yesterday hampered the search for several hours. Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Air-Corp and Special Forces are leading the search operation with two British helicopters also involved along with five other planes.
The Beech King Air, N87V, was chartered from Dynamic Aviation Inc. by Terraquest Ltd to conduct geophysical surveys on behalf of Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc. The survey area is in the west sector of Guyana in the vicinity of Chi Chi, Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).
A release from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) last night said that the aircraft departed Timehri at 2:14pm Saturday and last reported over the survey area commencing normal operations at 3:06pm. No further reports were received from the aircraft.
The GCAA said that search protocols were activated and the Rescue Coordination Centre became operational. “Air Traffic Control alerted other aircraft in the vicinity to try to establish contact with the Beechcraft but this was unsuccessful”, the release said. The US MCC Southern Command was also contacted for any reports of emergency distress signals emanating from the area but none was received.
The aviation authority said that due to the terrain and weather in the area it was not possible to commence a night search so arrangements were put in place to commence the search and operation early yesterday. The search operation is being coordinated by the Air Navigation Services of the GCAA with the GDF Air Corps and Special Forces conducting the actual search using their aircraft along with two British helicopters currently involved in training with the GDF.”These aircraft are supported by two aircraft chartered by GCAA from Air Services Limited and two private aircraft operated by Mr. Bernard Singh and GAMAS respectively”, the statement said adding that another aircraft currently engaged in similar geophysical survey and operated by Mc Par Geophysics is also assisting in the search operation.
Imbaimadai in Region Seven has been established as the field base for the operation with fuel and equipment flown there. The GCAA said that the aircraft were in the area conducting a systematic search of the survey area but no positive information was received. Due to low cloud coverage, the agency said, the aircraft were forced to land at Imbaimadai and remained on the ground for a while with operations recommencing at 3 pm yesterday, following which some of the aircraft returned to Timehri and Ogle.
However, the two British helicopters remained there checking with villagers for any information pertaining to the missing plane while “some aircraft will remain in the general area overnight and will recommence operations in the morning”, according to the GCAA.
Earlier yesterday, Director of Civil Aviation, Zulficar Mohamed had told Stabroek News that the GDF-led search party had not spotted the plane and due to the bad weather during parts of yesterday the search party had to wait some hours. Mohamed said that members of the party went into villages with the aim of garnering information.
A press release from the police on Saturday evening had said that the twin-engine aircraft, which is white in colour with red stripes, had departed Timehri to conduct a survey in the Cuyuni area just after 2pm on Saturday and was expected to return at around 6:15 the said day, but failed to do so.
Uranium
Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc is a subsidiary of the Toronto-based U308 Corporation, whose Vice-President, Nancy Chan-Palmateer confirmed to this newspaper that they had contracted Terraquest Ltd to do a geophysical survey in Guyana. While she confirmed that three persons were on board the aircraft she was unable to give any further details.
According to Terraquest Ltd’s website the company specializes in airborne geophysical surveys, geophysical consulting, data interpretation, enhancement and modeling.
Meanwhile, U308 Corporation is described on its website as a Canadian junior mineral exploration company based in Toronto, Canada. The company said that it is currently focused on uranium exploration in Guyana with its primary business objective being to acquire and explore, with the intent of developing, mineral resource properties.
It said that, to date, its subsidiary, Prometheus Resources (Guyana) Inc, has been granted two Reconnaissance Permits, the CM Permit (Permit A) and the PMCR Permit (Permit B), by the Guyana Geological and Mines Commission (GGMC) to conduct geological and geophysical surveys on adjacent lands covering an area of approximately 1.33 million hectares in Western Guyana.
“The CM Permit (Permit A) provides Prometheus Resources Guyana Inc. with the right to occupy the CM Area for three years commencing November 28th, 2005 in order to conduct geological and geophysical surveys for radioactive minerals and rare earth elements, which include uranium,” the company said on its website.
It said that Permit A grants the company the right to apply for, and be granted by the GGMC, “up to 15 prospecting licenses (each consisting of areas of approximately 202 hectares to approximately 4,856 hectares) for radioactive minerals and rare earth elements, provided that it has satisfied the requirements of the Permit and the GGMC.”
And as for Permit B it gives the company the right to “occupy the PMCR Area for three years commencing May 31, 2006 in order to conduct geological and geophysical surveys for radioactive minerals and rare earth elements, which include uranium.”
This permit gives the company “the right to apply for, and be granted by the GGMC, up to 20 prospecting licences (each consisting of areas of approximately 4,856 hectares) for radioactive minerals and rare earth elements, provided that it has satisfied the requirements of the Permit and the GGMC.”
Many aviation incidents, including the April 25 crash near Kopinang in Region Eight last year have raised the issue of Guyana not having proper search and rescue facilities.
I am less optimistic.
Bad weather, Crew unfamiliar with the terrain. Although I would love to see survivors come out of this – it would be a miracle. Turbine aircraft, fast!! Probably CFIT(controlled flight into terrain)
You are normally required to have over 200hrs observer time to fly in excess of 50Nm from Timehri into Guyana’s interior. A local pilot is usually employed to accompany the pilot/s – this is evidently not so in this case.
We can only hope and pray, but as the days go on, things can only get worse.
SSDD
I’m thinking it might be CFIT taking into account the article mentioned low ceiling. It seems this was more than likely a VFR flight and I am not aware if SYCJ’s ATIS cover the area they were surveying. Regardless I’m sure the captain must have his IR so I guess we can rule out the idea because they weren’t IR rated this happened..
No mayday was sent out to SYCJ so I’m thinking they either lost radio or lost SA (situational awareness) which you’ve touched on above. They didn’t mentioned how many hours respectively they had but they were a young crew.
after more that thirty years in this part of the wordl I am not familiar with the interior can you please enlighten and many others like me of the danger these poor people might be facing?
these turbo props are not that fast. minimum speed is 125 grownd speed. They cruise on mission like this between 140 and 170 knotts.
All these foreign companies in Guyana searching for a variety of “fancy” metals. Now we are told that there is one prospecting for uranium. Ha, ha, ha, ya.
“Now, I hope aluh na guh tell people that aluh gat uranium tuh”.
Do you know how easy it is to leave the US and Canada in a small private aircraft? Larger aircrafts and jetliners use the hangars at various recognized ports of entry, such as JFK, Pearson and so on. However, thousands of Canadians and Americans own smaller aircrafts. These aircrafts use mini airstrips that are scattered throughout North America, and it is very easy for them to fly in and out of the US and Canada.
When I first left Guyana in 1980, I went to live in the US. Around 1982 I enrolled with a flight training school. I was young and I was not sure what career I wanted to pursue. The flight training school was based in Long Island. My training was going well, and I logged a fairly reasonably number of hours that would have qualified me to fly a small aircraft, such as the one I was being trained on, all by myself. It used to be called a Piker.
One day while I was doing some training exercises with my tutor, he mentioned to me if I wanted to go to Trinidad and Tobago from the US. He said that they have done so many times in the past, and that they would normally stop over at several countries before the get to the Caribbean. He also mention about how easy it was to bring a couple of people back into the United States like this. I don’t know if anything has changed much over the years, but I would assume so, since Sept 911.
The point I would like to make is it is very easy for small aircrafts to fly in and out of Guyana, and even back into the US and Canada. These may very well be genuine cases of investment, but more needs to be done to monitor our airspace and the smaller aircrafts travelling in and out of the airspace of Guyana.
Red Lion
http://www.gtrl.tv
After I submitted this article, I went back through memory lane, and my advice to young people who are contemplating returning to Guyana, is please, think carefully. I returned in 1989 and today I regret. I wasted the best part of my life there. Guyana has nothing to offer young people if you are not from a family with “connections”. Maybe my family situation was somewhat different, but everybody would agree that the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. Opportunities are very limited for the children of ordinary people. Corruption; begging for raises here and there; rum drinking; reckless drivers on the streets; stray animals and remains of animals all over; garbage all over the place; and the stench of mud, latrine and drains in the villages; mosquitoes; people making fun of each other; name calling and even aggravated assault that sometimes land people who try to abide with the laws into problems.
Businessmen use their connections with Customs Officers to pull each other down. The bandits are trying to kill you on one end, and the Government, nailing you with taxes on the other end. I mentioned in earlier articles how there is no proper system to evaluate importers’ merchandise.
There are many rude and lazy people in the Pubic Sector. They move in the offices like snails and only look forward to make deals with the people who go there to conduct businesses. Listen to this, if you go for an Income Tax Compliance Certificate and you decide to pay the Government the taxes, the person who you go to would show you how you can pay less tax. In return, you give him/her a part of it – this is Guyana. Ayuh wake up.
Red Lion
Let The Lion Roar
http://www.gtrl.tv/truth.html
There is an individual (friend) who took part is most of the search operations in Guyana, until a few years ago. He has a personal collection of photographs of the victims of aircraft crashes in the hinterland of Guyana, and I was fortunate to see them all. I have seen images of branches protruding human bodies, heads opening apart and so on. Some of the images I saw were those of people I knew. It was very hurtful. I pray for the crew of the aircraft that went down, and I do hope that their remains are together.
Red Lion
Are all available resources been thrown into the search – including “GOOGLE MAPS” (to help narrow the search area…) ; also, was this aircraft not provided with a “TRNSPONDER”; which, hopefully (assuming there was an emergency landing) is still in working order!!!
I am sure the US will put all available resources to find the plane. Hope those on board make it out safe.
A quick check on the Internet show that this:
“The Beech King Air, N87V, was chartered”
Was more than 40 years old.
How about that???
i remember in 1978 a french company named COGEMA was mining uranium in the port kaituma area. that was the same time the Jonestown massacre happened. so we do have uranium in guyana.
Also, I attended an Precious Metals Conference in New York City a fellow participant “laughingly” told me that his company participated in precious metals mining in Guyana under a certain Government Administration (no name, no warrant ;-) ); and, the “Bore Hole Samples” brought (for testing for “PLATINUM”) to the United States of America was enough to pay for the entire cost of the exploration activities. How about that!!!! :-$ :-$ :-$
Was the Government of Guyana not anticipating developments like these when they purchased those two second-hand helicopters that may now be incapable of performing in a Search and Rescue, Medical Evacuation, Search and Recovery – Operation(s). What if those British Soldiers with their machines were not now in the Guyana to lend an hand at this crucial time!!! This just goes to show that the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) ought not to be a bunch of “Yes Sirs”!
Mo fuh dem people at de top fuh tief if dem get to mining dat stuff. Dat area bad fuh sarch from air, lotsa fog near dem treetop, very poor visibility in cooler temperatures also very hazy in higher temps (midday time suh). Dem gat fuh get dem amerindiuans fuh search pom foot.
Doubt it but hope dey can survive an get rescue..
Re: “No sign of plane”… Well, by now it is quite certain that the Guyana Defense Force’s (GDF) search parties (with their “under-bushing” gear) are on the ground asking the “Amerindian Villagers” (living in the closest proximity to where the aircraft was last known to be flying) if they have “seen” or “heard” anything about the “missing” aircraft. Eh!
As an aviator myself incidents like this makes you put into perspective the things that are really important. I am wondering why a mayday wasn’t sent out to SYCJ. Also why isn’t the ELT sending out any signal to aid SAR crews locate the wreckage?
I’m with the critics in that Guyana need to beef up their SAR capabilities keeping in mind we have a huge forested area which makes SAR more difficult. I’m a strong believer in always carrying a portable transceiver in the event of radio failure. However; I’m not concluding that and that alone would have prevented this incident.
I hope both the crew and passenger is doing well and I hope SAR will be successful in locating them.
I just wish all you technocrats and or technologically-astute bloggers speak English so the rest of us don’t-know-a-darn thing about ELTs, SARs, CFITs, SYCJs and VFRs can understand what you guys are talking about.
C’mon I want to leave better informed than when I first came!!!!!!!