By Alva Solomon

AN independent Aircraft Accident Investigations Unit is set to be established here before the end of this year.Aircraft accident investigations have, over the years, fallen under the responsibility of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and stakeholders in the sector have called for this arrangement to be re-assigned to a body that is independent of that aviation umbrella body.

During a recent interview with this newspaper, the GCAA General Counsel, Amanza Walton-Desir, informed that aircraft accident investigations fall within the remit of the state.

“The GCAA is the oversight body, but the best practice is to have an independent body set up for investigation,” she said.

As an example, she noted that if an accident occurs which requires an investigation, and the GCAA is seen as an attributable contributor to that accident, the body cannot investigate itself.

“So what ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] has called for is that, in accordance with Annex 13, we have to set up an independent body,” she said.

The GCAA has crafted a draft Air Accident and Investigation Act, and the legal document has been sent to the Chambers of the Attorney General for vetting. Its passage through the National Assembly is anticipated in the coming months.

Following the anticipated passage of the legislation, the independent body will be established, and will report directly to the subject minister — Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr David Patterson.

Mechanisms will be put in place to facilitate the body requesting assistance from other jurisdictions while investigating aircraft accidents. The purpose of such investigations is geared at promoting safety in the sector, rather than culpability.

According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), the Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr David Patterson, has informed that the input and recommendations of all stakeholders will be incorporated in the Air Accident and Investigation Act, and the document will then be forwarded to the Cabinet Sub-Committee for Parliamentary Affairs.

CONSULTATION
A draft of the Act was also sent to the Opposition shadow Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill, for his input, feedback, and recommendations, so as to ensure its approval and smooth passage in Parliament.

Minister Patterson said Guyana is a signatory to the effective implementation of the standards and recommended practices established by the ICAO for the safe and orderly development of the civil aviation sector, and the Act is Government’s effort to improve Guyana’s rate of compliance with ICAO.

Minister Patterson noted that by year-end, “We will have a structured unit for persons to learn from each other, and we can investigate and record air accidents independently, which will allow the ICAO to give us a higher grade in compliance.”

Government is committed to the improvement of the civil aviation sector, and “promises that with greater involvement, it can hopefully aid in the standardisation of operational procedures to ensure equal opportunities are available to all involved, while negating anti-competitiveness in the industry,” Minister Patterson told GINA.

The GCAA has published on its website the findings of several aircraft accidents which occurred in recent years. The list includes details on the Caribbean Airlines BW523 accident which occurred on July 30, 2011. Deemed a runway excursion, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, bearing registration 9Y-PBM, broke in half after landing that morning at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri. It ran off the end of the runway, but miraculously, there were no fatalities.

The GCAA also published the findings of the January 18, 2014 Trans-Guyana Airways (TGA) Cessna Caravan accident in which the pilot, Blake Slater, and aircraft loader Dwayne Jacobs, the lone occupants of the aircraft, died. The aircraft, bearing registration 8R-GHS, was shuttling between Olive Creek and Imbaimadai in the Region Seven area that morning when the incident occurred.