Aurora Gold Mine breaches local and international aviation laws

Jun 10, 2018 News

…Uses privately registered plane for commercial purposes

Currently, Canadian Flyers is the registered owner of the Twin Otter being used by Aurora Gold Mine to shuttle goods and employees in and out of Region Seven daily. That aircraft is registered in Canada but is operating locally. Even more worrying is the fact that the plane is registered for private use.
Operating a plane commercially in Guyana that is registered in another country as a private plane is a serious violation of aviation safety regulations in both countries, according to Guyana’s Civil Aviation Authority.

The Twin Otter

Planes that are registered privately are required to be maintained at lower standards than planes that are registered commercially. Also, the training requirements for pilots authorized to fly private planes are lower than pilots flying commercial planes. Pilots flying privately do not have to meet the same flight training or medical standards as commercial pilots.
Operating a privately registered plane for commercial purposes also has implications for the insurance. If the plane crashes into a house in Guyana, insurance would not cover that accident because the plane’s insurance is private but the accident occurred during a commercial operation.
In Canada, Commercial aviation is defined as the “use of an aircraft for hire or reward.”
Transport Canada refers to business aircraft as private-air operators.
However, it will only be considered private if the business is using the aircraft for that business only. In other words, from the time that business renders aviation services to another business “for reward,” it is then considered to be commercial. Therefore, the fact that Canadian Flyers is rendering services to Aurora, the aircraft is now flying commercial.
This is what Canada Transport said, “If you are Canadian and you operate one or more private aircraft, you are required to register with Transport Canada. This registration process replaced the private air operator certificate for new operators as of May 28, 2014.
“If you are a new private operator, you must apply for a private operator registration document. This registers you with Transport Canada and ensures your compliance with aviation regulations.
What you need to know before you start.
Private air operations are distinct from commercial air operations. They can be personal or for business. Here are two examples: An individual flies an aircraft for recreation or pleasure.
A business operates an aircraft or a fleet of aircraft to transport employees or clients.”
Aurora has told Guyana that it owns the aircraft that is found to be registered in the name of Canadian Flyers. Read more at: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/06/03/records-show-aurora-gold-mine-does-not-own-twin-otter-operating-in-guyana/

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News