UNC MP calls for Caribbean Airlines ATR safety audit

MAYARO MP Rushton Paray has called for a safety audit to be done on Caribbean Airlines' (CAL) ATR 72-600 planes.

He made this call after one of those planes made an emergency landing at Piarco International Airport on January 27.

In a statement on January 29, Paray said, "CAL must conduct a full safety audit on all ATR aircraft and fueling procedures. Maintenance and verification protocols must be reviewed and strengthened across the fleet, with better co-ordination between fueling crews and flight crews to prevent miscalculations."

He acknowledged CAL has a very strong record in aviation safety.

But Paray said, "These incidents demand swift corrective measures. Passenger confidence must be restored through immediate action, not after another preventable in-flight emergency."

He also recalled there was an incident last August when another CAL plane made an emergency landing at Piarco when a warning light came on in the cockpit.

In the Senate on January 28, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said CAL had informed him about the incident..

"One of the engines basically ran out of fuel, which caused the captain to make the mandatory announcement, in accordance with civil aviation regulations, to the passengers that they should get into the position that is recommended for an emergency landing.

"The captain managed to pilot the aircraft safely and landed well."

He said there were no injuries to passengers or crew, and the plane has been withdrawn from service.

Imbert said the plane's pilot and two technicians, who would know how much fuel was in the tank that fed the engine with the problem, were not in active service at presente.

"CAL will follow all the established procedures, in accordance with civil aviation rules and regulations, and their own internal industrial relations procedures to make sure that all persons involved get a fair hearing and that the root cause of the problem is determined."

Imbert said it was unnecessary to withdraw all CAL ATR 72-600s from service because of the incident.

CAL officials were unavailable for comment.

CAL issued a statement on January 28, however, about reports which claimed its passengers were subjected to a mass screening exercise in Orlando, Florida.

"The airline can confirm, following checks with its senior personnel in Orlando, that no such screening exercise with CAL passengers was conducted.

CAL said it had received "no notification or advisory from US authorities indicating that such an exercise was conducted or is being contemplated."

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal claimed there was a mass screening of CAL passengers in Orlando, when he spoke at a UNC public meeting in Chaguanas on January 27.

CAL made no reference to Moonilal in its statement.