Cayman Airways plane involved in second emergency landing in three days

A Cayman Airways jet has been temporarily taken out of service after being involved in two emergency landings in three days.

Passengers were alerted to a potential issue with the flaps – which create drag to help slow down the aircraft on landing – and told to assume the brace position as the plane prepared to touch down in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Saturday night.

The same aircraft was involved in a similar incident on Thursday, as it landed in Grand Cayman from Los Angeles.

Cayman Airways insists rigorous checks were carried out after the first incident before the plane was put back into service.

Video-footage of the landing Thursday showed the plane coming in at high speed. It landed safely and the airline reported in a statement Sunday that the alert was essentially a false alarm triggered by a faulty sensor.

Given the repeat occurrence of the same issue – after the sensor was replaced – the airline is once again taking the plane out of service.

Cayman Airways CEO Fabian Whorms attempted to cool passenger fears about the incidents, saying, “We understand the concern this situation must have caused, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.

“We assure our passengers and the public that we are taking every necessary step to resolve this issue swiftly and thoroughly.”

In its statement Sunday, the airline attributed the emergency landing alert at JFK Airport to its own cautious operating procedures.

It confirmed the plane had encountered a ‘flap indication’ during its final approach.

The indication is more than a warning light in that it commands that the flaps cannot be used – meaning the aircraft must come in at higher speed and would potentially have to brake harder on landing.

CAL claims, therefore, that the issue made little practical difference and that its alert to passengers was a ‘procedural abundance of caution’.

“Captain Basil Hamaty, assisted by First Officer Felton Beneby, declared an emergency with the knowledge that the aircraft was perfectly capable of landing safely at a higher speed than normal without the use of flaps on JFK’s very long runway, and without any potential need for excessive deceleration,” it stated.

Cayman Airways says the plane landed smoothly despite the warning. Social media videos from on board showed passengers holding their heads in their hands in the brace position as the plane prepared to land.

In its statement CAL confirmed the plane – one of the newer Boeing Max 8 aircraft – was grounded following the incident Thursday evening.

“A defective sensor was identified and replaced, and after extensive and successful checks, the aircraft was returned to service. The aircraft conducted four flights on August 10th without issue before the flap indication error reoccurred on approach to JFK.

“Given the repeat occurrence of this issue, the aircraft was immediately removed from service in JFK for further investigation.

“Cayman Airways is working closely with Boeing and has received new and additional troubleshooting steps to be taken before the aircraft is cleared for further flights.”

A replacement aircraft was used for the return flight from New York, Sunday, with a delay. CAL said there had been delays across its network Sunday.

Whorms added, “The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority at Cayman Airways. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of operational safety and reliability and will not compromise on these standards”