A Trans Guyana Airways aircraft registration 8R-GHS, went missing on Saturday January 18, 2014 at around 10:56 am. The aircraft had taken off from Olive Creek airstrip located at the junction of the Kurupung and Mazaruni Rivers and was heading to Imbaimadai. Another aircraft in the vicinity reported to Air Traffic Control that they heard the distress transmission of the missing aircraft.
Immediately other aircraft in the area began searching for signs of the missing aircraft but to no avail.
A coordinated effort by a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) helicopter and other members of the aviation community in Guyana, combed the area, thought to be encompassing the crash site. The search efforts ceased for the day at sunset on Saturday.
On Sunday morning the search efforts resumed, and as the day wore on the wreckage was spotted in a small clearing created by the downed aircraft amongst the dense vegetation. The decision was made to drop a search party consisting of members of the GDF and others in the nearest possible clearing, and approach the crash site on foot as daylight was fading fast. Nightfall forced the rescue party to hunker down for the night in the thick jungle, with the plan to approach the crash site at dawn.
Early Monday morning the search party came upon the crash site and found both pilot and cargo handler deceased. The search party immediately began clearing the crash site to facilitate the extraction of the bodies.
The pilot was identified as Captain Blake Slater a Canadian citizen of Guyanese heritage and Cargo Handler Dwayne Jacobs a Guyanese.
The aircraft was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan registration 8R-GHS, Serial Number 208B-0830, on shuttle operation between Olive Creek and Imbaimadai airstrip.
The staff of Guyana Graphic extends sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and Trans Guyana Airways.
