Govt rules out releasing GDF helicopter crash report

Last Updated on Friday, 6 February 2026, 7:11 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government on Thursday night signaled that it would not be releasing the report of the December 2023 crash of a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) helicopter that claimed the lives of five servicemen.

Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar told the National Assembly that because the Bell 412 EPI helicopter was on a military mission when it went down in the dense tropical jungle in the interior, the crash report could not be made public. “The flight operation at the time when it happened, it was a military operation. I repeat, it was a military operation. It was not a civilian flight,” he said in response to a call on Wednesday by Forward Guyana Movement’s leader Amanza Walton-Desir that Guyana was not complying with Article 13 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.

The minister said that provision “speaks about flights that are civil in nature”. “When you have a flight that is under State control…When you have a flight that is controlled by the army or the State, it is governed by the Chicago Convention and it says and I read ‘aircraft used in military, customs and police services shall be deemed State aircraft’ and because of this, which country that has military operation disclose to the public about when you have incidents or accidents? Find a country. It is a military operation within the virtue of the national security board,” he said.

The United States, Canada and United Kingdom all release military aircraft accident and incident reports.

This is the first time that the government has made clear its position on the report for which there had been numerous calls for it to be released. Previously, then aviation minister Juan Edghill had said that the report was before Cabinet. APNU parliamentary leader Dr Terrence Campbell, in his budget debate contribution, said he “I cannot understand a reliance on the Chicago Convention when a previous commitment had been given to release that report.”

Those who perished in the accident involving the helicopter bearing civil aviation registration marking, 8R-AYA, were veteran helicopter pilot of 40 years, Lt Col. Michael Charles, Retired Brigadier Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan. Those who survived are Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Wayne Jackson.

Ms Walton-Desir, a former General Counsel of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) told the National Assembly, that Guyana was breaching Article 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation by failing to release the report.

In response, Mr Indar said “I just want to inform the House that she is woefully, woefully wrong on this matter,” he said.

Ms Walton-Desir said the Convention mandates that countries release final crash reports as soon as possible or within 12 months. If the report cannot be made publicly available within 12 months, the State conducting the investigation shall make an interim statement publicly available on each anniversary of the occurrence, detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised.