Search party off to Haiti to find missing officials

The Director General of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) Rosemond James and Director of Flight Safety Gregory McAlpin, who were in Haiti attending a Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) meeting, have been unaccounted for since the occurrence of the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.{{more}}

A release from the office of the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said: “The Ministers of Civil Aviation in the OECS have been briefed on this disturbing development. The Prime Ministers of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda, along with the Board of Directors and Staff, approved the sending of a search party of five, including three Police Officers of the Royal Grenada Police Force who were part of a UN Peace Keeping mission to Haiti until September 2009, to conduct a search for the two officers.”

According to the release, Antonio Saladino of Canouan made one of his aircraft available to transport the search team to Haiti.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of ECCAA Godfred Pompey of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and members of the Board, Benoit Bardouille of Dominica, Denzil Jones of St. Kitts, and Sharon Peters, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Antigua, met with senior management and staff of the ECCAA on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, to offer comfort and reassurance to the staff of the ECCAA.

The Board members and senior staff of the ECCAA also visited with the family of James and will meet the family of Gregory McAlpin in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday January 23, 2010.

“The Chairman and Management of the ECCAA wish to reassure the Civil Aviation Community that the Authority will continue to provide the usual high standard of service.

“Our prayers are with the family and Staff of the ECCAA during this trying period,” the release said.