Questions are being asked about whether or not $1.6 million a month was spent to lease a helicopter from Briko Air Services by the National Operations Centre (NOC) under the People’s Partnership government.
The issue is being raised as Ministry of National Security officials go though contractual arrangements entered into by the previous administration.
Among the issues was whether it was cost efficient to lease a helicopter at such a fee when the NOC could have pursued the option of buying a second hand aircraft and who gave the instruction to enter the lease arrangements, since it is alleged the go ahead came from the Office of the Prime Minister in 2011.
The T&T Guardian understands the helicopter was leased from August 12, 2011 to January 24. During that period, according to the log reports, the time used for the aircraft totalled 149 hours and 10 minutes.
“Why was this helicopter leased from a private firm when the government could have secured a used helicopter with less airframe and engine time for anywhere between US$450,000 to US$700,000? The cost of the lease of this Briko helicopter, I am sure, far exceeded the cost they would have spent on purchasing a used aircraft. All this is taxpayers’ money being abused and/or wasted,” an aviation source said.
Sources claimed former NOC operations director Garvin Heerah and former deputy director of the NOC Air Division Major Paul Brown, who was a member of the Defence Force in Jamaica, knew about the leasing of the helicopter.
According to reports, the helicopter, which was once registered as 9Y-DAS, was allegedly altered to D-registered, meaning it was taken out of civil aviation registration, repainted and sent to the NOC and was flying as NOC 6. The re-painting of the aircraft allegedly breached civil aviation laws, which state that once an aircraft is re-painted and exceeds more than two per cent of its gross weight it has to be re-weighed because a change of paint would affect the weight and balance. The aircraft was not re-weighed.
The T&T Guardian was told that Heerah and Brown knew about the re-painting of the aircraft from its original blue and white colour to black with a red stripe Brown, who initially worked as a pilot at the National Helicopter Services Limited (NHSL), was enrolled in the NOC in 2013 but was asked to resign about six months ago. An NHSL Operations Services official said Brown is still based at NOC, Cumuto, but as chief pilot for NHSL.
An aviation industry source said the same helicopter, a 1988 Eurocopter AS355F2, reportedly had “a hard landing” on September 4—three days before the September 7 general elections—at an undisclosed location and is now being housed in a hanger at Briko’s Air Services compound at Camden, Couva. It is also alleged that Briko Air Services is seeking financial compensation for the aircraft from Government.
The T&T Guardian understands the aircraft was also posted up for sale on the Aircraft Shopper Online and is still there on the web site www.aso.com. The specs include the wording: “No Damage History and Good Class.” The aviation source said before the lease was signed for the helicopter, there were plans to purchase five helicopters from US-based Bell Helicopter.
Contacted on the matter, then national security minister Gary Griffith confirmed that he knew that the 9Y-DAS was changed to D-register, repainted and leased to the NOC. He, however, said he did not know the cost of the lease which was done through the Office of the Prime Minister, as the NOC falls under its purview.
Asked whether or not he knew there was a $6 million binding contractual agreement between the NOC and Briko pertaining to the lease, Griffith replied: “No, not that I am aware of.” Griffith, however, added that at that point it was critical for the NOC to get a helicopter.
“The NOC had several helicopters before but all of them were used by the Special Anti-Crime Unit of T&T (SAUTT) and were over 30 years old, and because the Air Guard needed a helicopter the quickest thing to do at that time was to lease the helicopter from Briko because the NOC’s operations were at the time crippled,” Griffith said.
He said around that time they were awaiting approval for the purchase of the five helicopters and “there were tenders from three companies, including Bell and CopterShop.”
Contacted yesterday for comment, Briko Air Services chairman Harripersad Dass would only say that the helicopter had an incident and it is currently being fixed in accordance with civil aviation laws. He added that it was under the care of the NOC and could not comment further.
The helicopter is currently undergoing inspection by the Maintenance Manual and once that is completed it will be sent back to the NOC, after it is checked through and signed off by Briko Air Services and Civil Aviation, the T&T Guardian understands. It was also confirmed that the lease has not expired and is currently ongoing under a long-term agreement between NOC and Briko Air Services.
Yesterday, Heerah said although he did not have all the necessary information readily available on the lease between Briko Air Services and the NOC, he knew for sure that whatever was done to the aircraft was done in guidance of Civil Aviation Registration.
“All protocols and due diligence was conducted prior to the establishment of the lease, I can say that for a fact because I know. The aircraft was checked out by experts from both NOC and Briko Air Services,” Heerah said.
Asked whether or not he knew an official’s close relative was allegedly given free training as part of the lease’s conditions, Heerah only said: “As part of the lease Briko offered training and maintenance. Training would have been to get familiarised and get acquainted on the aircraft. This is what was called a gentleman’s agreement, which I think was written on the lease.”
Asked if he could confirm if the lease for the helicopter was $1.6 million a month, Heerah said he knows it was $1 million a month but could not give the specific figure. He said the cost factor was in accordance with international standards. Asked whether or not he knew that the same unit hard-landed in September this year, Heerah denied any knowledge of this.
Contacted for comment, current NOC head Sarwan Boodram asked what the interview about. After being told he said he was restricted from answering certain things. He said he would attempt to call back on the topic but never did.
Efforts to reach the current Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon over the last few days were unsuccessful, as calls to his cell phone went unanswered.
Contract signed for Bell 429s
On March 4, 2015, Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced the sale of four Bell 429s configured for airborne law enforcement (ALE) and one Bell 412EPI configured for search and rescue to the NOC. The contract was signed by then NOC operations director Garvin Heerah.
According to the Airforce Association’s website, the Bell 429 offers the latest technology by providing the best combination of speed, payload, range, and cabin size, coupled with the latest safety improvements. It also offers exceptional flight performance with a fully integrated glass cockpit, advanced drive system and best-in-class WAAS navigation and IFR capability. It is the first helicopter certified through the MSG-3 process, resulting in reduced maintenance costs for operators.
The Bell 429 also features a spacious cabin and extra large 60-inch side doors, as well as Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability certified for single or dual pilot operations.
Different ‘copter used by former PM
The NOC6 was not used to transport former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to various events during her tenure. The aviation source said another unit, the NOC 5, was used for that purpose. The source said the aircraft used by Persad-Bissessar was initially a search and rescue unit and it was refurbished for commercial use by the then PM.