A full investigation has been launched by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and the Guyana Police Force into crash of the Bell 412 helicopter crash which occurred last Wednesday near the border between Guyana and Venezuela. This was confirmed yesterday by Brigadier Omar Khan, Chief of Staff of the Guyana
Five of the seven occupants of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Bell 412 helicopter which disappeared on Wednesday between Arau and Ekereku in Region Seven died after the aircraft crashed in the jungle, the army has confirmed. Those confirmed dead are: the pilot-in-command, veteran aviator Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Shaun 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.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF), said the black box recording device in the military helicopter, which has been found, will also assist them in determining the exact reason for the crash which resulted in the deaths of five GDF soldiers. Brigadier Omar Khan, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) said yesterday :“The phase that we are now going into is the investigation which is outside the remit of the Guyana Defence Force. We will now have the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority along with the Guyana Police Force conducting the investigations. Because we are part of this operation, we will have to provide information to those investigations and the process has already started and we have handed over a number of items to the Civil Aviation Authority and the police have also commenced their investigations,”
Brigadier Khan again expressed condolences to the families and colleagues of the Guyana defence force personnel who died in the crash and said: This is the life of the military we join. We train and live to serve selflessly,”
Guyana and Venezuela have been locked in a border dispute which has intensified over the last few months, with the GDF on high alert and receiving help from several allies, including the United States.
The men were extracted on Friday night after an extensive search commenced when the helicopter went missing shortly after take-off after a refuelling exercise. Guyana’s Special Forces and other agencies, executed nearly three days of intense efforts to save the survivors and recover the five servicemen’s bodies.