On the evening of Tuesday, 14 April 2026, a commercial passenger plane operated by Trans Guyana Airways (TGA) sustained significant damage after colliding with a herd of capybaras while landing at Eugene F. Correia ‘Ogle’ International Airport near Georgetown, Guyana. Remarkably, all 12 passengers and two crew members on board escaped the incident without injury, airline representatives confirmed.
The aircraft, a Beechcraft model registered as 8R-GAQ, was completing a scheduled inbound flight from Suriname when the collision occurred at approximately 6:00 p.m. local time, TGA spokesperson Christopher “Kit” Nascimento told local media outlet Demerara Waves Online News.
“Immediately after touchdown, the plane collided with a herd of capybaras that had strayed onto the active runway,” Nascimento explained in an official statement. The aircraft’s propeller struck one of the large rodents, which are native to South America and known locally in Guyana as watrash. While the spokesperson could not confirm whether the propeller suffered catastrophic failure, he confirmed the plane’s landing gear (undercarriage) sustained severe damage in the impact.
Following the collision, the aircraft’s engines were shut down and the plane was moved off the active runway to clear air traffic operations. An anonymous source familiar with the incident added that the pilot took quick evasive action immediately after spotting the herd, a maneuver that likely prevented a far more catastrophic accident that could have resulted in fatalities.
Nascimento highlighted that the incident stems from a growing wildlife hazard problem that has plagued the airport in recent months, linked to ongoing major road construction works surrounding the airfield. He noted that large wild species including capybaras and caimans have been driven out of their native habitats by the construction activity, and have become a persistent “plague” that regularly crosses the airport’s runway.
“Airline and airport teams work continuously to ensure wild animals are cleared from the runway before aircraft receive clearance to land,” Nascimento said. “In this case, the collision occurred after the plane had already touched down, when the capybaras ran into the aircraft’s landing gear.”
Officials have not yet released details on the cost of repairs to the damaged aircraft, or what long-term measures will be implemented to mitigate the ongoing wildlife hazard at the airport.