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Downed chopper is Bell 412, not lately purchased Bell 206 – Luncheon
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, says that he has been advised that it was the Bell 412 helicopter that was down and not the recently purchased Bell 206.
He said that there might have been confusion with the blade tacking equipment to render the 412 serviceable and he was assured that were there to be specific concerns about Bell 206, information would be available. He noted that the parts for the Bell 412 have been acquired and are being cleared and that the chopper will be back in operation.
It was reported in late April that the Bell 412 helicopter belonging to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) which went down in the Tacama savannahs, in Berbice some 20 months ago in May was repaired and was flown to the Army’s Air Corps base at Timehri.
Army Chief-of-Staff, Commodore Gary Best, had said the aircraft was repaired by skilled engineers on staff.
Major Michael Charles who flew the chopper to Timehri had announced that it was fitted with a new engine which was flown in to Tacama and the repairs were effected.
This newspaper had previously reported that one of the purchased Bell 206 B III Jet Ranger helicopters that were being used in the interior to hunt the remaining members of the gang flushed out at Christmas Falls was currently not in action.
A senior army source at that time had confirmed that the helicopter was not currently flying but declined to say why.
Unconfirmed reports had suggested that the helicopter developed mechanical faults as a result of the rigorous flying it had to endure while assisting in the hunt for the gang.
Main opposition party leader Robert Corbin in light of the recent brazen attacks such as the one on the East La Penitence Police Station, the shooting to death of Arjune Narine on Middleton Street, as well as the attempted bombing of the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport had told this newspaper, “Clearly the purchase of the two Bell 206 has not made an impact on the crime situation in Guyana.”
The government came in for heavy criticism regarding the type of helicopter that was purchased and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, had asked the public to wait and give the copters some time to prove their worth.
One of the more prominent critics of the purchase was Captain Gerry Gouveia who heads Roraima Airways.
The Head of State, Bharrat Jagdeo, hit back at Captain Gouveia’s comment that the choppers were not suitable for crime fighting because of their limited capacity to carry troops.
The President told the operatives of Government Information Agency (GINA) that, “One should understand the reason for purchasing the helicopters.” This, he said, was mainly for surveillance.
“I think the comment that the helicopters are not for crime fighting because they have limited capacity to carry people is a silly one. You have to understand crime fighting in different ways; it is not just transporting troops. It is also about surveillance. It is about ensuring you have visibility, you can track people.”
Head of the Presidential Secretariat told media operatives that the helicopters which have been purchased at a cost of $1.5M would be capable of seating four persons also with the pilot and is efficient for search and rescue as well as surveillance.
According to Luncheon, probably the most impressive capability of the helicopter will be the fact that it will be equipped with infra-red capability which can be used to detect the warmth of a human body in dense terrain such as Guyana’s jungle.
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