CAYMAN ISLANDS (11 July 2001) -- With two thirds of its fleet of three planes grounded as of last Saturday because of mishaps, this country's national flag carrier, Cayman Airways, appear set for a further downward spiral in its operations with an announcement today, 11 July, that the entire fleet was taken out of operation effective last night. This news, announced at a presss conference called by the airline, comes amid suggestions that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded operations of the airline to Category Two. This unconfirmed reported shifting from Category One to Category Two is an indication that the US flight regulators are dissatisfied with safety standards employed on these islands and means that the Cayman flag carrier will be allowed to continue flights into the United Sates under heightened surveillance only. Also under this rating the airline will not be permitted any expansion in service using the current equipment. | | On 3 July a Cayman Airways flight from Cayman Brac to Grand Cayman was aborted while on the runway because parts of an engine began breaking off onto the tarmac. This was followed on 7 July with the pilot of this three plane airline returning to Grand Cayman after 20 minutes into a flight to Houston owing to instability in readings of the engine level. SOURCE - Caynet News |
