Spray Plane Pilot Grounded

From The Cayman Net News

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

RAINY SEASON IS FROM MAY TO NOVEMBER!  HURRICANES ALSO ARE PREVALENT FROM JUNE TO NOVEMBER.  MOSQUITOS own the island unless sprayed and killed during this time.

Efforts to control the spread of
mosquitoes in Grand Cayman have suffered a major blow after one of the
pilots involved in the spraying operation was grounded pending the
completion of an investigation by the authorities.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman
Islands (CAACI) has banned the pilot who is employed by the Mosquito
Research and Control Unit (MRCU).

The banning of the pilot comes at the beginning
of the mosquito season, putting a serious strain on the MRCU�s ongoing
programme to eradicate the mosquito population in Grand Cayman.

A complaint made to the CAACI allegedly claims the aircraft came too close to a cruise ship moored off George Town.

According to one source, the pilot was engaged in
a flight authorised by the MRCU and the incident may have occurred
while he was positioning the aircraft to enable a passenger riding in
the back seat to take photographs.

The CAACI has confirmed that they are investigating an incident but refused to provide any specific details.

Attempts to obtain a reaction to the complaint
from the MRCU or to find out what impact the investigation is having on
their spraying programme at the time of going to press proved
unsuccessful.
However, MRCU Assistant Director Allan Wheeler
recently said the next few weeks would be a critical time if they were
to ensure that the mosquito population is kept under control.

The MRCU has also just issued warnings that they
would have to step up both airborne and ground-based spraying after
recent heavy rains increased the levels of standing water and the areas
where mosquitoes can breed on the Island.