President David Granger has granted his approval to a request for an extension of time for submission of the final Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report into the recent discovery of a foreign aircraft at Yupukari, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Region Nine.
The request was made by Head of the Commission, Brigadier (ret’d) Edward Collins. The Report, which was due to be handed over to the state on November 16, 2016, will now be handed over on November 25, 2016.
Brigadier Collins was commissioned to investigate, examine, advise and report on the circumstances under which the foreign aircraft, which was discovered on September 13, 2016, entered into the country.
Concurrent to the CoI, a Joint Services team, headed by Superintendent Hugh Denheart of the Guyana Police Force, is conducting investigations and will pursue and probe the areas beyond the scope of the Terms of Reference of the Commission.
Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, who received the preliminary report last month, had noted that the administration is looking forward to the final document and its findings and recommendations.
The plane, bearing registration number N767Z, was first brought to the attention of officials on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 by a resident of the area. The following day, Wednesday, September 14, a Joint Army and Police team, inclusive of CANU, was dispatched to the location to conduct investigations. One week later, the Government announced that a CoI would have been set up to probe the discovery of the aircraft in Guyana’s territory.
