CAYMAN ISLANDS (7 July 2001) -- Giving its impression that having one plane down out of a fleet of three following a mishap is not bad enough, faith has dealt the National Airline, Cayman Airways (CAL) another blow by forcing one more aircraft to abort after experiencing problems during a flight to Houston. Merely four days after a carrier of CAL had to abort a flight and return to the ramp in Cayman Brac following engine trouble, another aircraft was subjected to similar action on Saturday, 7 July after just over 20 minutes into a flight from Grand Cayman. This second incident for the three-plane airline comes before the company managed to get a replacement engine for the first downed carrier, leaving Cayman Airways with one airworthy aircraft and lots of headaches. Although no airline officials were available to comment, reports are that planes belonging to other companies have been hired for sub-service to ease the ring. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Chairman of Air Jamaica, Mr. Gordon 'Butch' Stewart was recently in Cayman some two weeks ago, and met over lunch with Hon. Kurt Tibbetts, the Minister responsible for the National Flag Carrier. Shortly after the first mishap on 3 July, CAL assured the public in a press release that the first plane would be repaired and returned to service within a few days. However, that aircraft, which was taking passengers from Cayman Brac to Grand Cayman when the flight was aborted, remains on the ground awaiting the arrival of a replacement engine. | | It is understood that officials are still debating the merits of buying a new engine at a cost of $1.2 million or acquiring a used one for $750,000. Now a second mishap has caught the airline's decision-makers amidst their indecision and has forced upon them a need to determine what to do about another plane. The official explanation for the first aborted flight was that the Boeing 737-200 experienced problems before take-off from Cayman Brac on a flight to Grand Cayman and parts of the engine began breaking off on the runway. "I can confirm that the engine sustained an internal failure that caused stages of the turbine to break apart. The exact cause of the failure may only be determined when the engine is torn down and a complete investigation is concluded. This will take at least 90 days," the airline quoted Vice-President Maintenance and Engineering, Mr. Derrick Tibbetts, saying. The airline said in its second release on Monday, 9 July that the replacement engine is expected later this week. The official position regarding Saturday's aborted flight is that on the plane's climb after take off from Grand Cayman bound for Houston the pilot noticed a gradual decline in the quantity of engine oil, but the reading leveled-off after the carrier completed its ascent. The pilots returned the aircraft to Grand Cayman as a precautionary measure and it landed with both engines working. SOURCE - Caynet News |
