Report on fatal GDF helicopter crash exempted from public release – Indar

Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar on Thursday disclosed that Guyana is exempted from releasing the report on the horrific December 2023 helicopter crash that took the lives of five Guyana Defence Force (GDF) servicemen.

He made this these remarks in response to Opposition Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton Desir, who on Wednesday called for the release of the report.

During his contribution to the budget debates, Indar clarified that the article cited by the Opposition MP relates to civil flights not military operations.

“The flight operation at the time when it happened, it was military operation…when you have a flight that is controlled by the army or the State, it is governed by the Chicago Convention and it says and I read ‘aircraft used in military, customs and police services shall be deemed State aircraft’. And because of this, which country that has military operations disclose to the public about when you have incidents or accidents,” the minister contended.

“It is a military operation within the virtue of the national security board…it is a national security issue, and it exempted,” he added.

On December 6, 2023 the GDF Bell 412 helicopter left GDF’s Headquarters at Camp Ayanganna on a command trip to several hinterland locations when it crashed.

Contact was lost with the aircraft, and an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) alert was received about 11:19h while enroute to Arau, Region Seven near Guyana’s border with Venezuela.

Five servicemen – Brigadier (retd) Gary Beaton; Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shahoud; Lieutenant Colonel Mike Charles; Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome; Warrant Officer Class II Jason Khan were killed in the crash, while two other soldiers survived.

The helicopter suffered significant damage, particularly in the fuselage. The black box was subsequently sent to the National Transportation Safety Board in the US to be examined and the findings has since been handed over to the Guyana Government.

A draft report, including findings from the black box and Bell Helicopters, on the crash was prepared by lead investigator Krishnanand Ramlachana of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority since last year.