The US-registered aircraft that went missing on Saturday is yet to be located according to Head of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Zulfikar Mohamed and search efforts are expected to continue today in a special “interest area” in the jungle to be targeted.
Yesterday, two aircraft and a foot patrol were deployed in the search for the plane. The foot patrol was sent to an identified “interest area” but had to abandon its search because of nightfall. Mohamed said that the area in question had been identified by the helicopter employed in previous searches because of the presence of damaged trees in the area. The helicopter, however, could not launch a full search because of the intense jungle around. The helicopter did not see any debris in the area but Mohamed said that no area could be discounted.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held with senior officials of the (GCAA) where the way forward was decided. Apart from the foot patrol looking at the identified area, the helicopter will return and a new aircraft brought in to assist in the search. The new aircraft belongs to Dynamic Aviation (who owns the missing aircraft) and is equipped with a special camera which will be able to take quality overhead pictures which can be further evaluated.
The missing aircraft, a Beech King Air, last made contact with the Control Tower at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri at 3:06pm on Saturday.
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.
