Howai: CAL planes safe

(Trinidad Express) Though lacking a GPS system, the 767 aircraft used by Caribbean Airlines to fly to London/Gatwick are suitable because they fulfilled the requirement of having a flight route which ensures the aircraft is no more than 120 minutes away from a suitable airport, Finance Minister Larry Howai stated. Responding to a question in the Senate Monday, Howai said the airports that are on route and that are less than or 120 minutes from the flight plan are: Bermuda, Shannon/Dublin Airports (Ireland), Santa Maria and Lajes Airports (Azores) and all the major airports along the Eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada. Howai said CAL had indicated that although the aircraft is not yet equipped with the GPS system, the Standalone INS which is the Inertial Navigation System is currently installed and is being used by the aircraft. He said the Standalone INS was used for over 20 years by BWIA in their L1011 aircraft, which operated the London and European routes without any errors caused by the navigation system.