A Cayman Airways plane has been temporarily grounded after a routine post-flight inspection revealed damage to the aircraft’s right wing, thought to be the result of a bird strike.
Flight KX852 had landed in Panama on Monday, 14 April without incident before the damage was discovered. While initial assessments suggested only minimal impact, the airline grounded the aircraft temporarily as a precaution. It is currently working with the aircraft manufacturer to conduct a thorough evaluation before returning it to service.
Replacement crew
Cayman Airways dispatched a replacement crew and aircraft from its B737-8 fleet to operate the return service for flight KX853. The flight departed from Tocumen International Airport at 10:30pm local time on Monday, a delay of 6.5 hours, landing in Grand Cayman at 1:55am on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, Cayman Airways apologised to passengers for any inconvenience caused and thanked them for their patience and understanding.
The aircraft remained temporarily grounded as of Tuesday morning while the damage was evaluated. Cayman Airways said the aircraft will only be returned to service once this process is fully completed and all safety protocols have been satisfied, adding that the temporary grounding will have no impact on any other flight operations at this time.
