Tuesday, October 16, 2012

UPDATE: Fly Montserrat has a second incident, Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation body grounds the airline

This morning, a 9:40 AM Fly Montserrat flight seemed to have a landing and possibly braking related incident at the John A Osborne -- aka Geralds -- Airport, Montserrat. The aircraft ended up on the grass verge at the end of the runway, which has long been subject to controversy over its relatively short length (some 700 m):


The plane on the verge of the runway at Geralds, about 30 ft from the embankment
(Source, MNI Alive, fair use)

Per a statement made to MNI Alive:
[T]he Manager of Fly Montserrat, Captain Nigel Harris, who confirmed that an incident did take place. Captain Harris stated; "I can report that the aircraft landed normally, decelerated along the runway, but the pilot thought that he felt a minor vibration. As a precaution, he let the aircraft roll gently onto the grass, where the passengers disembarked. No injuries, no damage to aircraft."
There were no injuries to any of the six passengers or to the pilot.

This incident comes on the heels of a fatal crash in Antigua, and has led to the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation authority grounding the airline. END