A Civil Aviation Authority Investigation has cleared an MRCU contract pilot of any wrongdoing in relation to an alleged incident near George Town in early May.
The pilot was grounded by the CAA after it was alleged that he flew too close to a cruise ship and the Port Authority dock on 9 May.
In a statement issued Friday, the CAA said there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation. The pilot’s licensing privileges have been reinstated and no charges will be brought against the pilot or the MRCU, it said.
‘As a consequence however, amendments to MRCU’s aerial spraying procedures are being introduced to enhance the safety of such operations which require flying at very low altitudes,’ the statement said.
The pilot, who is employed by the MRCU as a contractor, is responsible for flying the MRCU’s second plane.
Though the grounding is not said to have had a significant effect on aerial adulticiding operations, the MRCU were keen to have the pilot back on board in case mosquito conditions worsened.
At a Cabinet Press Briefing on 8 June, Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts took issue with the cruise ship passenger that made the initial complaint against the pilot.
He said he couldn’t understand why the passenger was complaining if he or she did not have mosquitoes problems.
‘The passenger … who saw that the pilot flew too close to the cruise ship is not … having problems with mosquitoes so I can’t understand why they made all those comments,’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
‘It does really bug me; this cruise ship passenger, instead of enjoying the cruise, is going to go to the pain of making sure they report that to the Cayman Islands.’
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