In the wake of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five of its servicemen, the GDF yesterday held a press conference on the three-day rescue operation that saw as many as 60 people involved in frequently adverse weather conditions and the two survivors are said to be in generally good health.
Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Omar Khan in his opening remarks offered condolences on behalf of the GDF to the families of the deceased.
Those who perished were Brigadier (Rtd) Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Charles, Lieutenant Colonel, Sean Welcome and Sergeant Jason Khan. Those who survived were Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Dwayne Jackson.
“As you are aware a search-and-rescue operation was activated on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, to locate and rescue all aboard one of our helicopters”, Khan said.
He noted that the operation concluded on December 8 with the extraction of the two survivors and the bodies of those who perished.
“The search-and-rescue operation in the face of many challenges including the weather conditions, was successfully completed.”
Commanding Officer of the Air Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Mohinder Ramjag, spearheaded the presentation into the flight path and the geography of the terrain with detailed explanations on the starting point of the mission to the time contact with the chopper was lost. At one point he underlined the hair-raising nature of their rescue operation with the blades of a chopper in proximity to trees at the 3,000-ft high site of the crash.
The disappearance
According to Ramjag, “Wednesday Dec 6, 2023 one of the Guyana Defence Force’s Bell EPL helicopters departed Camp Ayanganna on a mission with the intent of going to Arau. The flight forwarded from Base Camp Ayanganna at 09:24 hours to Olive Creek which they landed there at 10:37 hours.”
He explained that this ground time was used to stop and refuel the aircraft after which they departed Olive Creek at 10:58 hours to continue their journey to Arau in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni.
“If you are familiar with the way pilots fly the ideal route is a direct routing, however on that particular day the pilot diverted to the right northern side [and] while doing so, contact was lost with the aircraft in the vicinity”, he said. Ramjag said that the diversion could have been for many reasons and answers may be gleaned from the cockpit voice recording system.
The stress that the chopper endured triggered the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) and upon receiving this signal, it was suspected that the aircraft was being subjected to extreme weather conditions. With this realization the GDF team along with personnel from the Air Corps and the Guyana Civil Aviation authority mobilised a search and rescue operation to establish the location of the aircraft.
Force operations officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Pompey, continued the presentation where he explained that at about 11.20 hours when they received the emergency distress signal, Special Forces elements located at the Trans Guyana-owned Blake Slater Airstrip located in Region Seven launched into action. However, after two failed attempts to reach the crash site due to bad weather, search efforts were suspended and continued the next day, Thursday December 7.
To the rescue
On Thursday morning they returned with even more determination to access the crash site, however they were still greeted with harsh weather conditions prompting them to discharge one team consisting of medics and rations for the survivors, some 0.8 miles from the actual site.
The rescue team eventually located the crash site and spent the night there with the survivors and deceased since efforts to have them extracted safely were unsuccessful.
On Friday, December 8, they continued their mission despite the inclement weather conditions and were successful at extracting the two survivors and the five deceased and transporting them to Georgetown. They were all winched out.
A total of 60 persons and various organisations stepped in to assist with the rescue effort, with a total of 10 aircraft used to locate the site safely. The GDF received assistance from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) the Regional Security System (RSS), Omni Helicopters which does work for ExxonMobil, Trans Guyana and Air Services Limited, and the Ministry of Health along with the setup of a rescue coordination centre established at Timehri.
The rescue
Lieutenant Colonel Ramjag also gave additional details on what their investigations are aiming to provide,
He disclosed that he commanded an aircraft with a team to locate the distress signal some 40 minutes after receiving it on the ELT. However, the inclement weather hindered the rescue flight effort, and an aircraft stationed at Cuyuni-Mazaruni and piloted by Orlando Charles went ahead to the site and observed that the elevation of the crash site was 3000 feet, but they too could not land.
When Ramjag and his team arrived at the site they were prevented from landing due to the bad weather.
On Thursday, they returned to the site were able to see what seemed to be a survivor, waving at them through the thick vegetation. This development spurred the team into action and with the blades of the rescue chopper blades spinning mere inches from canopy, rescue personnel rappelled onto the site.
The aftermath
Ramjag explained during the questions portion of the press conference that the aircraft remains were badly burnt.
In response to questions, Khan stressed that the probe is now in the hands of the police and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. The GDF will also convene its own Board of Inquiry.
In response to questions, Ramjag acknowledged that the Bell Helicopter was a very advanced one and outfitted with devices that would allow it to take evasive action. He said finding the crash site was literally like detecting a needle in a haystack.
Asked if the two survivors had provided any insight into what had transpired during the flight, Brigadier Khan said there was no information on this. Lieutenant Nigel Langhorne said the survivors do not have injuries of any significance.
A question on protocols for flight operations in bad weather was not addressed. Ramjag also highlighted the swift variations in weather conditions that can occur in the area. He said the weight aboard the chopper was below the payload of 11,900 lbs. The fuselage of the chopper was severely burnt.
