Traffic chaos in wake of accident & airport emergency

(CNS):  Updated  — Downtown George Town was gridlocked this afternoon (Thursday 17 December) after a road accident and an airport emergency saw a number of the capital’s roads closed. A motorcyclist is currently recovering in hospital after his bike collided with a car at the junction of School Road and Eastern Avenue at about 12.50 pm, which came in the wake of the emergency landing at Owen Roberts International, which had also forced road closures all around the airport when a cargo plane reported the loss of an engine.

The rider of the Yamaha motor cycle that collided with a Lexus motor car was taken to the George Town hospital, where he is currently being treated, though police said they were believed his injuries were not life threatening.  The female driver of the Lexus was not injured as a result of the accident. Police enquiries are ongoing and PC Muschette of the RCIPS Traffic Department is appealing for witnesses to the collision.

The Cayman Islands Airport Authority has now confirmed the details of the airport incident. At around 12 noon today, Air Traffic Control received notification of a cargo aircraft en-route to Grand Cayman which had declared a full emergency due to the loss of one of its engines. All emergency services were deployed in accordance with Air Traffic Control notification procedures.
The Saab 340 type aircraft, operated by IBC Airways Inc., was a scheduled cargo flight from Miami to Grand Cayman. The aircraft, with two crew members, landed safely without further incident at Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) on Grand Cayman at 12:30 pm.