HGP NIGHTLY NEWS – An 80-minute period between the time a Roraima Airways pilot was contacted and the departure of an aircraft to search for the MV Barima came under scrutiny at the Commission of Inquiry on Thursday, with questions raised about whether the response could have been faster.
Roraima Airways Director of Operations and Commercial Pilot Captain Learie Barclay testified that he was contacted at approximately 12:16 a.m. on July 19 and hurried to the Ogle Airport, where he met Captain Gerry Gouveia Jr. and Christopher Chung. The aircraft eventually departed at approximately 1:36 a.m.
Commissioner Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Hayden Pritchard challenged Barclay on that timeline and suggested that the response time could have been improved. Barclay, however, maintained that the crew did the best it could in the circumstances.
The aircraft reached the search area near Hampton Court at approximately 1:56 a.m. Due to the low tide, the crew flew approximately three nautical miles farther out from the coordinates initially provided.
At 2:09 a.m., almost four hours after the initial distress signal was received, the crew spotted the first emergency flare. Barclay acknowledged that finding the correct area on their first search line involved some fortune, telling the Commission, “I think it was a bit of luck involved here because it was the first line that we flew and it was the correct line.”
He explained that the aircraft could otherwise have been required to fly back and forth in a grid before locating the area. Shortly afterwards, Christopher Chung spotted the first flare. Barclay recalled that the crew “immediately circle overhead and then a second flare and then a third flare.”
During the search, Barclay also switched to a distress frequency and detected a strong Emergency Locator Transmitter signal. He said the signal became “stronger and stronger and stronger” as the aircraft continued along its flight path.
But despite locating the flares, Barclay said the crew became gravely concerned by what they could not see on the water. “We were expecting to find something. We were looking for a ferry, a reasonable size boat and unfortunately, we saw nothing of consequence,” he testified.
Air Traffic Control was subsequently notified and coordinates were provided to the Maritime Administration Department before the aircraft returned to Ogle at approximately 2:37 a.m.
Barclay also faced questions from Commissioner Dr. Andrzej Jasionowski about why the aircraft did not return to the search area after refuelling.
He explained that once the location had been identified, he expected vessels on the water to take over the search. Barclay said there was “not much more we can do,” explaining that conducting an aerial search over the ocean at night meant operating in “pitch black” conditions.
The veteran pilot acknowledged that Guyana needs additional technology, including infrared equipment, to strengthen nighttime search-and-rescue operations.
Photo: Newsroom
