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Air Services Limited pilot Feriel Ally may have prevented a major disaster by switching off the fuel pumps of her plane before it crashed at Matthew’s Ridge on Monday.Sources close to the investigation told Kaieteur News yesterday that engineers examining the damaged Cessna Caravan ascertained that the pilot had switched off the pumps, thus preventing fuel from flowing to the engine.It is believed that this action by Ally prevented the plane from bursting into flames when it crashed. An aviation source explained that the fuel that is used in the Cessna Caravan is even more flammable than the type that is used in many other aircraft.Captain Feriel Ally“It’s a lucky thing that the plane did not burst into flames when the aircraft crashed. It’s a good thing that she had turned off the fuel.”Initial investigations indicate that Ally clipped a tree while circling the area during heavily overcast conditions that prevented her from seeing the airstrip. Kaieteur News understands that Captain Ally had been informed by the agent at Matthew’s Ridge that the weather was good enough for her to land. According to sources,Brian Poole Falcons Jersey UK, an aircraft takes some 40 to 50 minutes to reach Matthew’s Ridge,Rod Woodson Steelers Jersey UK, and during that time, the weather changed drastically. However,Terry Bradshaw Steelers Jersey UK, Captain Ally was reportedly not informed about the change in weather.Kaieteur News was told that after arriving at Matthew’s Ridge with poor visibility,Jack Ham Steelers Jersey UK, Captain Ally circled the airstrip three times,Eric Rowe Patriots Jersey UK, and while circling a fourth time, one of the wings clipped a tree. It was then that the pilot switched off the fuel pumps as the plane went down.Sources close to the investigation said that while Captain Ally sustained minor injuries,Stephen Gostkowski Patriots Jersey UK, she was “devastated” by the accident.Kaieteur News was told that the vegetation into which the aircraft crashed cushioned the impact. According to a source, the engine and manifold were damaged,Steve Grogan Patriots Jersey UK, but the aircraft can be repaired.Nevertheless,Davante Adams Packers Jersey UK, a source estimated that the repairs would cost a whopping $10M. Engineers hope to bring the engine to Ogle by weekend.Engineers from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Caribbean Aviation Maintenance Service (CAMS) and Trans-Guyana Airways are conducting the investigation into the crash.Captain Ally and 11 passengers were injured in the mishap. Among the injured were Esther Williams and her two-year-old daughter, Jonel; Alona Massay, 27, of Matthew’s Ridge; Naline Dellon,New England Patriots Jerseys UK, Wesley Johnson, Shellon Williams, Urmella Rajesh and Dexter Benjamin.Passenger Alona Massay recounted that she was sitting three seats behind the pilot when the plane circled three times in the vicinity of the Matthew’s Ridge airstrip. “I say that maybe she (the pilot) wasn’t seeing the airstrip, and then it (the plane) made one drop into the bushes. It happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to think. It just dropped.”The impact knocked her unconscious. When Massay regained her senses, she was still strapped to her seat and she observed that the plane was in the bushes. She observed a female passenger and her husband running among the trees. Ms. Massay said that she unfastened her seat belt and crawled out of the plane.Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, said that there are reports that the aircraft clipped a tree some two and a half miles south of the airstrip. Minister Benn expressed relief that there were no fatalities, but added that he regrets the injuries the passengers sustained and the loss of the aircraft. |
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