Aviation accident experts in key meeting here

Experts in the field of Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation are deliberating here this week on a range of issues including the legal framework, regulations, data processing and storage of accident reports

A release from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said that training and other technical issues related to conducting a comprehensive and impartial aircraft investigation are also on the agenda.

Guyana is hosting the 2nd meeting of the Caribbean Accident and Incident Investigation Organisation (CARAIO) from June 26 to 30, 2017, at the GCAA boardroom.

An investigation can be conducted with the help of sleuths from the newly established CARAIO if the assistance of the group is sought by a member state, the release said.

Director General, Lt. Col. (Rtd) Egbert Field, in welcoming the participants, underlined the importance of having an independent body conduct accidents and investigations within the aviation sector. The Director General said that it is difficult for a state to conduct an aircraft accident and incident investigation without the collaboration of other states, and the establishment of this group makes the task much easier to undertake.

Under the guidance of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), the CARAIO Accident and Incident Investigation Group (AIG) will be created under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for the region. In Guyana’s case, helicopter accident and incident investigation is an area of interest in light of the emerging oil and gas industry, the tourism sector and the diversifying agriculture sector, the release said.

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

This meeting will continue the efforts to ratify a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to set up 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.