Black box from crashed GDF helicopter sent to US to retrieve data – Min Edghill

Public Works Minister Juan Edghill has disclosed that the black box from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) helicopter which crashed earlier this month in Region Seven and claimed the lives of five servicemen, has been extracted and taken to the United States to retrieve critical data.
During a press conference on Friday, Edghill disclosed an accident and incident investigator was appointed to probe the incident.
According to the Minister, last week, approval was granted for the investigator to travel to the US to deliver the black box to the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) for the retrieval of data to aid the ongoing investigation in ascertaining what transpired in the December 6 crash.
Edghill also dismissed reports that the military chopper was transporting an engine for a miner at the time of the accident. The GDF previously said that the helicopter was transporting senior army officials on a Command Mission to Guyana’s borders, where troops are stationed.
The victims of the crash are Brigadier (Ret’d) Gary Beaton; Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shahoud; Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome; Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, and Sergeant Jason Khan.

Two soldiers survived the crash: Corporal Dwayne Jackson and Lieutenant Andio Crawford.
One day ago, Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Lieutenant Colonel (Ret’d) Egbert Field, told Guyana Times that efforts are continuing to provide greater understanding into the circumstances of the tragic incident. He added that once the investigation has been wrapped up, findings would be presented to the relevant authorities.
Since the incident, there have been talks regarding the extraction of wreckage from the crash site. However, this has not been done as yet. The helicopter suffered significant damage, particularly in the fuselage, with only a few pieces remaining.
On December 6, the Bell 412 helicopter, with registration 8R-AYA, left GDF Headquarters at Camp Ayanganna at 09:24h, and travelled 144 miles to Olive Creek, where it arrived at 10:27h. After refuelling, the helicopter departed at 10:58h for a 58-mile journey to Arau.
Contact was lost with the aircraft, and an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) alert was received at about 11:19h.
The GDF had said the chopper was on a command trip to Arau, Macapa, and Eteringbang, as part of Guyana’s response to an “imminent threat to our territory”. The specified helicopter possesses an unladen weight of 3207kg, an internal payload capacity of 2190kg, a maximum total weight of 5398kg, and a cargo hook capability of 2041kg.
The Bell 412 Epi helicopter also had a system designed to warn the pilot of obstacles ahead, enabling them to take evasive measures. However, it has been disclosed by the GDF that only the aircraft’s black box holds the potential to offer insights into this capability.
Lieutenant Andio Crawford and Corporal Dwayne Jackson were finally extracted from the crash site after two days and multiple thwarted attempts by the search and rescue team to rescue them. Adverse weather conditions in the mountains of Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) where the crashed occurred, had posed a multitude of challenges for the survivors to be rescued.
Brigadier Beaton was the project engineer; Colonel Shahoud, an attorney-at-law, was Commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion; Lt Col Charles was the pilot; Lieutenant Colonel Welcome was the Commanding Officer of the Reserve Battalion; and Staff Sergeant Khan was from the 31 Special Forces Squadron.