AVIATION experts from the Caribbean are currently in Guyana to deliberate on, among other things, how to better investigate accidents.

During the second meeting of the Caribbean Accident and Incident Investigation Organisation (CARAIO), the experts will discuss a number of issues, including the legal framework, regulations, data processing and storage of accident reports, training and other technical issues related to conducting a comprehensive and impartial aircraft and other aviation related accident investigation.

The meeting will serve to expand membership within CARAIO to states within South, Central and Latin America, a statement from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said on Monday.

According to the statement, an investigation can be conducted with the help of investigators from the newly established CARAIO if the assistance of the group is sought by a member state. Director General, Lt. Col. (Re’td), Egbert Field, during the opening of the conference noted the importance of having an independent body conduct accidents and investigations within the aviation sector.

Field said it is difficult for a state to conduct an aircraft accident and incident investigation without the collaboration of other states and the formation of this group makes the task much easier to undertake. He foresees wider collaboration with other states within the region, including those in South, Central and Latin America.

Under the guidance of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), the CARAIO Accident and Incident Investigation Group (AIG) will be established under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards for the region.

In Guyana’s case, helicopter accident and incident investigation is an area of interest, considering the emerging oil and gas industry, the tourism sector and the diversifying agriculture sector, the statement added.

CARAIO’s importance was underscored in the first meeting and reaffirmed in this second meeting due to numerous deficiencies regarding AIG issues. The establishment of this CARAIO group is supported by CASSOS, with assistance from ICAO, North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACC) Regional Office and Central American Corporation for Air Navigation Services (COCESNA).

The meeting is aimed at ratifying a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to establish a separate Accident and Investigation Group under the auspices of the (CASSOS). CASSOS is an institution within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which was created by members of the Association of Civil Aviation Authorities of the Caribbean (ACAAC).

Guyana is a member state of CASSOS and other member states include Barbados, Haiti, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.