Chief of Defence Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Omar Khan, could not say when the report into the deadly December 2023 Helicopter crash that killed members of the military will be released.

The Guyana Defence Force conducted its own investigations in addition to the investigations that were carried out by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. Both reports have been completed, but their findings remain closely guarded.

Brigadier Khan noted that the GDF was just a stakeholder in the investigation and that the substantive investigation was being undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works through the Civil Aviation Authority.

He said the GDF had established a Board of Inquiry into the deadly incident, but those findings would only be made public when the substantive report is released.

“The Board of Inquiry is meant to have that report when it is completed but we have completed what we had to do, but there is a part which we have to have from the official report to take into consideration to complete our board of inquiry. All the findings of the international investigations would be acted upon,” Brigadier Khan stated although he could not say what those findings were.

He made clear that he is unaware of the contents of the final report and is still awaiting to see it like every one else.

In January, the Government reported that the draft report was awaiting the comments from several stakeholders.

These stakeholders include the GDF, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Transport Canada, Bell Helicopters, and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

In February, the Minister of Public Works promised that the report would be publicly addressed by March, but there has been no official word since then.

On December 6, 2023, a Bell 412 helicopter operated by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) crashed in western Guyana, claiming the lives of five out of the seven people on board. The two survivors have since returned to active work in the GDF.

The helicopter was engaged in border operations at the time of the crash. The incident occurred about 30 miles east of Arau, near the Venezuelan border.

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