Abandoned plane still at Piarco

AN unclaimed YS-11 aircraft at Piarco International Airport which was supposed to be donated to the Chaguaramas Military and Aerospace Museum, is still at the airport. This was revealed yesterday by the museum's curator Linda Kelshall.

The Airports Authority issued a public notice asking either for the owner or people with a legal interest in the aircraft to claim it by July 9. As a result of no one coming forward, the authority said last week, the plane will be donated to the museum. The authority said it has been unable to date to identify the owner and said this was why a public notice was issued about the aircraft.

Kelshall told Newsday the plane has not been received by the museum as yet. She indicated that staff from the museum were sent to examine the plane. Kelshall said the aircraft was apparently used by members of the Fire Services for training exercises. Saying the nose of the plane is missing and its interior is in a poor state, Kelshall was uncertain whether the museum would be able to dissemble it and reassemble it for subsequent display.

The museum, Kelshall said, is a non-profit organisation and does not have the funding to undertake this exercise for an aircraft in this condition. She added there has been no word from the authority regarding the plane thus far. Kelshall said a decision will be made in due course.

The plane could be the property of now defunct Air Caribbean. This airline was launched in 1993 and used YS-11 aircraft during the first five years of its operations.