Krishnanand Ramlachana, the appointed investigator into the helicopter crash which claimed the lives of five military personnel and injured two others on December 6, has taken the aircraft’s ‘black box’ to the United States for analysis, as part of the probe into the incident, according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill.
The minister made this disclosure on Friday at a year-end press conference in response to questions on the subject. The aviation sector falls under the purview of the Ministry of Public Works.
A flight recorder commonly known as a “black box”, is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.
“Last week, I approved for that investigator to travel to the United States to transport and deliver to the National Transportation Safety Board, the black box so that the readings of that black box would be able to inform the investigation as it relates to what happened.”
He noted that the investigator was “actively pursuing” information about the weather at the time of the fatal crash and burn of the chopper about 30 miles east of Arau near the Guyana-Venezuela border on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
Edghill in response to a question on whether the helicopter, which bore registration markings 8R-AYA, had been transporting an engine to an interior location for a miner said “I’m unaware of that, I never heard that. Based on my knowledge I know that the flight plans state the chopper was transporting military personnel on a “command mission.”
At this point, the minister announced that he will not be entertaining any more questions or be providing additional details into the progress of the investigations.
He stressed that too much disclosure could compromise the investigations, but promised that results from the flight data recorder will be available during the first quarter of 2024.
Recently, Director General of the GCCA, Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Egbert Field told this newspaper that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Unit, which is an independent branch of the GCCA, is tasked with carrying out the investigations into the crash.
He noted that while the probe unit consists of experts from the local aviation authority, it will be assisted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent US government investigative agency, responsible for civil transportation accident investigation.
“We will get assistance from the NTSB, and when I say we, I mean the Accident Investigation Unit, which is answerable to the Minister of Public Works. The body is an independent annex of us [GCAA],” Field had told this newspaper
“They will help us in areas where we don’t have the requisite equipment to complement the investigation, [also] the accident investigation unit is required to report to the minister and not the Director General of the GCCA,” he explained.
The Director General had noted that if the GCAA doesn’t follow international civil aviation standards, as required during the accident investigation, the investigation unit can summon the Authority for questioning.
“Let’s say the GCCA, doesn’t follow international civil aviation standards, it can be called in for questioning by the unit, and the other parties like the Guyana Defence Force can be summoned as well if the unit realises that certain operational procedures were not followed.”
The GCCA is responsible for conducting initial inspection, registration, and airworthiness certification, as well as continued surveillance and annual re-inspection and recertification, for all Guyanese registered aircraft.
The servicemen who died were: Brigadier (retired) Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan.
The two survivors of the catastrophic crash are Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Dwayne Jackson. Their statements will be pivotal to the investigation.
The Ministry of Public Works in a press statement on the crash said that on December 6, 2023, at 11:20LST, a Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) message was received by Air Traffic Services at Timehri Control Tower indicating an initial alert of a distress signal by the helicopter.
In keeping with established procedures, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority had activated the National Rescue Coordination Centre (NRCC) at 11:45 LST (Local Standard Time), to coordinate the search and rescue mission to locate the aircraft. Immediate response coordination with the primary responders for such a mission included the GDF, private aircraft owners and operators, and the Guyana Police Force. Four aircraft, including a specially equipped search and rescue helicopter, were deployed to the base of operation, with GDF Special Forces. However, the search was suspended due to adverse weather conditions.
The NRCC re-commenced its operations at 0500LST, on December 7, 2023. Five aircraft, including the GDF Skyvan and Bell 412, were deployed to the base of operation at Blake Slater aerodrome between 0700-1000hrs with twenty-seven persons, including the On Scene Coordinator from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.
At 10.40 hours, the GDF Bell helicopter located the crash site and signs of life were observed. However, the insertion of the GDF Special Forces was impaired due to weather. A team led by Colonel Howell was eventually successfully inserted 800m from the crash site.
Subsequently, the On Scene Coordinator had reported that there were two survivors of the seven persons on board the aircraft.
