–following recent rash of aviation accidents

THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Wednesday suspended all shuttles, as flights between two locations are called, within the country’s interior following the latest in a recent spate of domestic aircraft accidents.

GCAA Director-General, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Egbert Field, told the media on Wednesday that the suspension is as a result of a preliminary analysis of the accidents, which indicate that the common thread was the shuttle operations.
“As a result of the accidents and the authority’s preliminary analysis, the authority has now taken the decision to suspend all operations until the documented procedures and policies for shuttle operations are submitted, reviewed and approved by the inspectors of this authority,” Field said, adding that he could not say when the suspension will be lifted.

He, however, cautioned that the preliminary analysis is not part of the ongoing investigation into the accidents, but rather a precautionary measure taken by the Authority following a lengthy discussion among its technical officers.
Field noted that while shuttle operations are important to the development of the local aviation industry, they come at a risk, as they are completely different to regular passenger flights.

He said, too, that while aircraft operators, with whom he had earlier in the day met, were not pleased with his decision, they were nonetheless committed to submitting their manuals and other documentation relative to policies and procedures to the GCAA soonest so that the ban could be lifted.

Field said that once those documentation would have been submitted, the Authority will then cross-reference them with those of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), after which each operation will be subjected to a physical inspection by the entity’s inspectors.

287
‘BIBLE OF OPERATIONS’
“When we approve those documents, indirectly we are saying to the operator, ‘This is how we expect you to operate.’ So, that document is like a contract between the operator and the Civil Aviation Authority,” he said, adding that it could well be regarded as the “Bible of operations”.

Within the past two months, the domestic airline industry has seen three accidents, two of which would claim the lives of the pilot.
The last occurred on Sunday, resulting in the death of Captain Imran Khan, who was involved in a shuttle operation between Chi Chi and Mahdia, in Region Eight community (Potaro-Siparuni).

On Sunday morning, rescue teams were dispatched to a location some two miles north of Mahdia in search of the Air Services Limited (ASL) Cessna 206 aircraft flown by Khan, after it had failed to land in Mahdia. Khan was laid to rest on Wednesday.
On July 25, Roraima Airways pilot, Colin Martin, died when his Britten-Norman Islander aircraft crashed on landing at Eteringbang, in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Two weeks later, a Britten Norman Islander captained by Dominic Waddel also went down in the Eteringbang area, but luckily, the pilot was able to escape with minor injuries.
Back in December 2014, a Britten Norman Islander belonging to ASL and registered as 8R-GHE, disappeared while on a routine shuttle operation from Mahdia to Karisparu, in Region Eight.
The pilot, Captain Nicholas Persaud, 27; cargo handler David Bisnauth, 51; and the aircraft have not been found.

Field had reportedly met with operators some three weeks ago after the second accident, and “demanded that documented procedures and policies for shuttle operations be submitted to the Authority.”
According to the DG, himself a veteran pilot, shuttle operators have over the years expanded, and rapidly so, as a result of the changing dynamics of developmental programmes.

He said that whereas in the past, operators were given permission by the Authority for small-scale shuttle operations, they now find themselves engaged in larger operations which have grown rapidly.

334
HEIGHTENED SURVEILLANCE
This being the case, he said the GCAA will also be increasing its surveillance of air operations by conducting more rampant inspections of outgoing flights. What this means, in essence, is that nspection would be ramped up at Ogle, where the Authority has an office.

Said he: “This will put a drain on our small human resources, but we consider it a necessary move in order to not only have more surveillance but to show the traveling public their concerns are being looked after by this Authority.”
He also disclosed that the Authority will, within the next two months, be hosting a safety symposium, the last of which was held back in 2015. He said there is a need to have such a symposium in light of the growth of the industry and the recent spate of accidents.
“Our industry is growing very fast, where a number of years ago, we had 30 or 40 aircraft; now we have 70-plus aircraft on our register,” Field said, adding:

“This means the Authority will have to increase its capacity in order to maintain the balance and level of surveillance.”
He assured the media that the GCAA is committed to creating a safe, secure and modern civil aviation sector, and “will be reducing the current number of accidents and incidents as far as is humanly possible.”

“I know that the halting of the shuttle operations in the interior will create some hardship for miners and also inhabitants, but we think this is a necessary measure to halt it until we can have documented the procedures, the policies by operators so that we are assured that the air operators are maintaining operational control of not only their organisation at the main base but also of operation in the locations where shuttling is conducted.”

As soon as the review process is completed and all the elements are included in their shuttle operation, that is qualified loaders, certified engineers, dispatchers and among others, the ban will be lifted. “We hope that this would not take too long but I am expecting manuals and documents after I spoke with them this morning,” he stated.

NO KNEE-JERKER
“Sometimes you have to cut a limb to save a life and that is what we are doing here. It would not be for any protracted period,” said the director-general, who assured that the decision was not a knee-jerk one.

Field explained that miners utilise the shuttle operation service so as to transport cargo, inclusive of fuel to the destinations. He said it is very expensive to fly fuel from Georgetown to Chi Chi or Kato and as a result, many miners transport fuel by road in trucks where they are better able to transport several barrels at a time. They then position the barrels at Mahdia, where they are picked up to be taken to areas inaccessible by road.

“That type of operation is risky. It isn’t like the normal type of operations like if flying from here to Lethem …the shuttling operation shuttling cargo it is in areas or across mountain ranges or through mountain gorge…it is a little more risky than the normal run-of-the-mill flying,” he added while emphasising that the GCAA is not worried about the regular operation.
Field, a former pilot, said too that the Authority is also seeking to ascertain whether there are proper refuelling facilities along with whether the loaders and other persons involved are qualified. This information must be contained in the documents to be submitted to the GCAA.

Additionally, during this suspension period, Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) will be monitoring flights closely to ensure there are no breaches. The GCAA Director-General warned that should any pilot or operator be found guilty of not reporting a flight to the ATC, sanctions will be imposed.

“They would be flying the aircraft illegally. The sanctions would be revocation of air operator’s licence or suspension of the pilot who is flying the aircraft and a number of other sanctions,” he stated.
That aside, the GCAA will be depending on soldiers and the police in places like Eteringbang to inform it of flights landing and taking off or those engaging in shuttle operations without reporting same to the ATC.
This is the first time policies are being put in place to govern shuttle operations.