Cause of Mahdia runway incident remains publicly undetermined
Police are investigating after an aircraft carrying five passengers and a pilot left the Mahdia Airstrip runway following landing on Sunday. No injuries or cargo loss were reported, and the aircraft reportedly sustained minor wheel damage. At Mabaruma, a separate September 17 incident was attributed by the airline to an animal on the runway; that explanation does not establish the cause at Mahdia.
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The key difference between two recent runway incidents is what is known about their causes. Guyana Times reports that police have not publicly established why an aircraft left the Mahdia Airstrip runway after landing on Sunday. At Mabaruma on September 17, Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) said an animal entered the aircraft’s path as it landed, prompting the pilot to maneuver to avoid it. The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) sent an investigation team to Mabaruma; neither that airline account nor the GCAA’s broader warnings identifies a cause for the Mahdia incident.
The Mahdia aircraft had five passengers and a pilot aboard and came to a stop on the airstrip’s eastern side. No injuries were reported, police said, and no cargo was lost or damaged. The aircraft reportedly had minor damage to its wheels. Regional Division #8 police obtained statements at the scene as their investigation continued.
Separately, the GCAA warned about animals crossing aerodrome runways. Guyana Times reports that Section 83(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2018 makes it an offence to trespass on aerodrome land or cause an animal to trespass there. A person convicted summarily could face a $1 million fine and six months’ imprisonment. This warning concerns general aerodrome safety, not a finding about what happened at Mahdia.
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