GDF deployed helicopter, islander in search for Barima survivors
The Guyana Defence Force deployed a Bell 407 helicopter and an Islander aircraft in successive flights as part of the search-and-rescue operation following the July 18 MV Barima tragedy, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) heard on Monday.
GDF pilot Major Lloyden Layne testified that he departed Eugene F. Correia International Airport in the Islander after the Bell 407 helicopter returned from an earlier reconnaissance flight.
Appearing before the five-member Commission at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Layne detailed a nighttime mission lasting approximately one hour and ten minutes, during which he descended to about 500 feet.
He told commissioners that he spotted what appeared to be a red light offshore and circled the area for approximately 20 to 25 minutes in an effort to determine its source.
The light remained constant throughout that period, he said, but despite flying over the location, he could not identify its source. His reconnaissance focused on an area approximately one to one-and-a-half miles around the light.
Layne said he saw nothing else on the sea surface, which he described as pitch black. Responding to questions about the aircraft’s capabilities, he explained that the Islander was not equipped with a searchlight and that the crew relied on unaided vision during the reconnaissance.
Commissioners also examined the exchange of information between crews conducting successive flights.
Layne confirmed that he spoke with Captain Learie Barclay, who had returned from the earlier reconnaissance flight in the general area. Their discussion, he said, was limited to weather conditions.
Asked why he had not sought information about observations made during the earlier flight, Layne explained that he was hurrying to depart as the other pilot was returning.
The Commission also questioned whether a system existed to consolidate observations from successive patrols and guide ongoing operations.
Layne said he was required to brief his commanding officer after his mission but was unaware of how that information was subsequently used or whether it formed part of a wider system for consolidating reports.
Asked about the precise coordinates supplied for the reconnaissance and the location of the unidentified light, he said the information was marked using the aircraft’s GPS.
The public hearings continue in the Lula Room of the ACCC at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. The Commission is chaired by Belizean jurist Justice Godfrey Phillip Smith.
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