The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Domestic Airways Incorporated was yesterday fined a total of $75,000 for occupational health and safety violations, including failing to give notice of the death of Pilot Randy Liverpool earlier this year.
Luther Orlando Charles pleaded guilty to three of the four charges that were read to him by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in Georgetown.
Liverpool perished in a plane crash on February 21st, 2019. Liverpool was the lone occupant of the Cessna 206 aircraft, which was registered to Domestic Airways, on a flight from Ekereku to Eteringbang. It went down about five minutes away from the airstrip where he was destined.
The first charge read to Charles stated that between February 20th and February 25th, at Georgetown, being the employer of Liverpool, a pilot, he failed to keep a register of accidents as required by law.
Charles denied the charge and is expected to return to court on September 4th for a continuation of the proceedings related to the charge.
He, however, admitted to the other three charges read to him.
The court heard that between February 20th and February 25th, he failed to provide the Ministry of Social Protection’s Occupation Safety and Health Officer Dwain Vyfhuis with information in relation to the accident that led to the death of Liverpool.
Charles pleaded “guilty with explanation” to the charge.
According to the attorney representing the Ministry, Vyfhuis would have contacted the accused between March 25th and April 12th and requested documents from the company in relation to the plane crash. An inspection was then conducted on the premises and Charles then informed Vyfhuis that the authority to request information lies with the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and not the Ministry of Social Protection. The lawyer noted that Vyfhuis then cautioned Charles, and advised that a written request would be sent to him. However, when checks were made to ascertain if the accused would have received the letter, a receptionist indicated that they did but that she was waiting on a reply from Charles.
Charles, however, told the court that he was advised by the GCAA not to give information to the media or any other entity. He also noted that the GCAA was in possession of the said documents.
Sentencing for the offence was later deferred by the Chief Magistrate until today.
Charles was also charged with failing to give notice of the accident that resulted in Liverpool’s death and failing to make an application for a registration of an industrial establishment to the Chief Officer of the Ministry of Protection’s Occupation Safety and Health Department within 30 days of his company commencing operations.
Guilty pleas were entered for both charges by Charles, who indicated to the court that he is new to aviation management in Guyana, although he has been a pilot for 18 years. He said he was not aware of the department. He added that his company was operational in 2014 for six months and was recertified in January of 2018.
Charles was subsequently fined $50,000 for the failure to give notice of the accident, with an alternative of a default sentence of three weeks in prison, and $25,000 for failure to make an application to the Occupational Safety and Health Department, with an alternative of a sentence of three weeks in prison if he defaults.
