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Govt. says GDF copter crash report off limits
…opposition raises transparency concerns
(Kaieteur News) – Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar has refuted comments made by Opposition Member of Parliament and Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Amanza Walton-Desir that Guyana is required by international convention to release the report on the deadly helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five servicemen.
During the Budget Debate on Thursday, the minister said that while the MP claimed Guyana is breaching international aviation codes by failing to release the report on the helicopter crash, she was “woefully” incorrect. He explained that the flight was military in nature and not civilian, which exempts the report from becoming a public document.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar.
The Aviation Minister informed the National Assembly, “The flight operation at the time when it happened, it was a military operation…Annex 13 of ICAO speaks to disclosures of flights that are civil in nature.”
Consequently, he pointed out, “When you have a flight that is under the state control, when you have a flight that is controlled by the army or the state, it is governed by the Chicago Convention and it says “aircraft used in military, customs and police services shall be deemed state aircraft” and because of this, which country, that has military operation disclose to the public about when you have incidents or accidents? Find a country! It is a military operation within the virtue of the national security board…and because of that it is a national security issue and it is exempted by virtue of that.”
Following the conclusion of his presentation, the lead Opposition MP for the APNU benches, Dr. Terrence Campbell challenged the statements made by the minister. He pointed out that the Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill who was previously tasked with control of the aviation sector at the time of the crash had committed to the publication of the report. Campbell therefore questioned the reason for this sudden reliance on the Chicago Convention to dodge transparency in that tragic accident.
Kaieteur News had reported Minister Edghill as saying, “They (stakeholders) have until January 10, 2025 to make their comments, when those comments come, if there are any serious concerns to be adjusted that will be and then the report will be published.”
Moreover, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo had also given the commitment for the report to be published, following its completion. On December 8th, 2023 five of seven occupants of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Bell412 helicopter died when the aircraft crashed in the jungle between Arau and Ekereku in Region Seven. Those who died are: the pilot-in-command, veteran aviator Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, Staff Sergeant Jason Khan and Brigadier (ret’d) Gary Beaton. Lieutenant Andio Michael Crawford, a pilot on board the aircraft, and Corporal Dwayne Johnson survived the crash.
Shortly after the crash, Edghill had appointed a special investigator to probe the incident and at a news conference late December 2023, he disclosed that the Blackbox of the chopper had been sent to the United States (US). Subsequently, Edghill told reporters at his ministry’s end-of-year press conference that the feedback on the draft helicopter crash report should be submitted by January 10, 2025.
To this end, MP Walton-Desir on Wednesday during the 2026 Budget Debate said that the report should be made public. She noted, “Under Guyana’s international obligations, including the Chicago Convention, accident investigation is not optional, and it is not political. It must be independent, credible, and transparent.” As such, she reiterated calls for the Government to release the aircraft accident investigation report. The MP suggested, “If there are national-security sensitivities, those sections can be redacted. But the technical findings must be released. They must be released. Families deserve closure. The aviation sector deserves the lessons and trust demands transparency. When accident reports are withheld, confidence in the system is undermined.”
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Why is the government trying to fool the Guyanese public. Just Google it and you will find the the statement by the minister is utterly incorrect.