Scare as LIAT airplane lands safely after wheel failure

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The regional airline, LIAT, Monday confirmed that one of its aircraft on a flight from Guyana to Barbados landed safely at the Grantley Adams International Airport here after experiencing a “main wheel failure during takeoff”.

It said the landing of flight LI 774 with 43 passengers on board was “uneventful” and the “aircraft is being examined by the company’s maintenance department and will undergo the various checks stipulated by the manufacturer before it is returned to service”.

Over the past few weeks, LIAT has been experiencing a number of problems with passengers complaining of being left stranded at airports across the region.

Over the weekend, 29 Dominicans who attend the 11th OECS Credit Union Summit in St Kitts, claimed that they were stranded at the airport awaiting a flight home on the regional airline.

Last week, LIAT, announced that its service is “expected to improve significantly with the return of a new plane to its network”.

The airline said that the service was boosted by the return one of its two newly acquired ATR aircraft which was grounded in Barbados for a week due to a technical issue that has now been resolved.

The ATR 72, a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional aircraft, is one of two such planes recently acquired by the company in its fleet modernization program.

Earlier this month,a prominent Dominican businessman accused LIAT of contributing to the damage of fragile economies in the Caribbean through its poor service.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com