An insurance claim has initially met costs related to repairs for the Cayman Islands’ new Thrush aircraft operated by Mosquito Research Control Unit (MRCU). The plane was damaged only 23 days after being on Island even before it was put into use for aerial spraying.

It had arrived on Friday, 27 January to replace an older plane that was damaged in August 2005 when it skidded off the runway at the Owen Roberts Airport in Grand Cayman. While still waiting for takeoff in the country’s aerial spraying programme the new plane was damaged when visiting pilots, who came with a corporate jet, powered up their aircraft to park in the general aviation parking area – west of MRCU’s hangar at the Owen Roberts International Airport.

While powering up, there was a blast from the corporate jet. The blast damaged the tail end of the new MRCU craft. Speaking at a Media Briefing by cabinet members on 24 March 2006, Leader of Government Business, Hon Kurt Tibbetts, said, “At this point in time it (the repairs) is being dealt with through insurance.”

However, at the time of the incident Mr Tibbetts said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would report on the incident. He said that in compiling the report the Authority would be questioning the visiting pilots. At that time he also said that the CAA report would make a determination “with respect to responsibility (for payment).”

Mr Tibbetts expressed every confidence that even though insurance monies had to be paid up-front – ahead of a clear answer as to who was to foot the repair costs – “the matter would be resolved” without much difficulty between the parties involved. Having reported on 16 March that the damaged plane had reached its manufacturers at Thrush Aircraft, Inc., in Albany, Georgia, for repairs, on 24 March Mr Tibbetts said, “This plane will be returned to Grand Cayman in the next week or so.”

This absence of a fixed date for the return of that plane came right alongside the fact that Mr Tibbetts was also not able to attach a fixed date to the arrival of the second new plane, which is to be part of the country’s aerial spraying programme. In relation to that second aircraft he said, “Next month we hope to see the arrival of the second new plane.”

With this news in relation to MRCU aircraft, there is still no starting date for the country’s aerial spraying programme. However, against this background Mr Tibbetts said, “Notwithstanding our present inability to conduct an aerial spraying programme, the public should rest assured that additional resources have been applied to ground-based activities.”