Cayman AirwaysFleet Fit to Fly
Chairman ofCayman Airways, Mrs. Sherridan Brooks-Hurst, at a recent PressConference
with Director of Civil Aviation (left) and Acting CEO of the airlineMr Mike Adam
The National flag carrier of the CaymanIslands, Cayman Airways (CAL) has resumed flights with all threeof its aircraft.
A senior airline official on Saturday, 21July, confirmed to Cayman Net News that after the necessary repairswere carried out, inspection and an audit by an official fromthe Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of the UK, the planes got aclean bill of health and as of Friday night were cleared to beput back in service on the company's routes.
With this development, there is no furtherneed at this time for the contracted aircraft on sub-service agreementssince the fleet was grounded as of midnight 10 July.
Two of the three planes experienced problems- one in Cayman Brac on 3 July and the other on 7 July when itwas 20 minutes following departure from Grand Cayman on enrouteto Houston - and the airline grounded the entire fleet pendinginspection.
It is understood that the third plane, whichhad not experienced mechanical problems, was used to fly in replacementengines for fitting onto the two other aircraft
This third plane, KX - CYB, which is thelatest acquisition of CAL some time ago went through a US$13 millionoverhaul before it was added to the fleet. In the industry itis referred to as a 'Quick Change' aircraft in reference to theshort time necessary to convert it from a passenger plane to acargo carrier.
The KX CKX aircraft was the one groundedon Cayman Brac after an engine began spilling parts on the runwayjust before take off. That engine was changed on the plane onCayman Brac and subsequently ferried to Grand Cayman on Tuesday,17 July, and KX- CAL had experienced an irregular engine oil-levelreading, and the pilot in the interest of safety returned theplane to Grand Cayman.
In a release on Monday, 23 July, Chairmanof CAL's Board of Directors, Ms Sheridan Brooks-Hurst, said: "CaymanAirways Limited is pleased to announce that effective at midnighton Friday, 20th July, 2001 it resumed using its own fleet of 737200 aircraft, which it had previously suspended, on the recommendationof its Executive Management Team and in conjunction with the CaymanIslands Civil Aviation Authority, pending the outcome of an independentaudit and investigation of each of the aircraft and the associatedoperations and functions.
"For the purposes of the investigationand audit, the Cayman Islands Aviation Authority provided theservices of Mr W. J. Done, a Chief Surveyor for the UK CAA, who,although finding some procedural aspects which needed attentionby Cayman Airways, concluded that "Cayman Airways' maintenanceengineering documents and records indicate that the company hasappropriate procedures in place , and for the most part has demonstratedthat they are capable of managing the maintenance of Cayman Airwaysaircraft."
"Bearing in mind the confidence entrustedto us by the public as regards the safety of our passengers andcrew, prior to resuming service with its own aircraft, CaymanAirways addressed the issues raised by Mr Done in his report tothe satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Authority."