CIVAIR: FAA TEAM HOLDS FINAL CONSULTATIONS WITH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 000831 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND EB/TRA (MATTINGLEY) SOUTHCOM FOR J7 (RHANNAN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON ETRD JM SUBJECT: CIVAIR: FAA TEAM HOLDS FINAL CONSULTATIONS WITH JAMAICAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY REF: A. KINGSTON 0292 ¶B. STATE 13346 ¶C. POWELL/MATTINGLEY/BENT 3/17/05 FAXES ¶D. 04 KINGSTON 1738 ¶E. 04 KINGSTON 1683 ¶F. 04 STATE 130299 ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU). Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: On March 16, an FAA team led by FAA Flight Standards Southern Region Division Manager Frederick Walker, held final consultations with Transport and Works Minister Pickersgill, Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) DirGen Lewis, and other GOJ officials. Lewis and his team provided a report on the status of JCAA's program to correct the deficiencies previously identified by FAA in its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA). FAA and JCAA delegation members reviewed the list of outstanding issues, and Walker and JCAA DG Lewis signed a Record of Discussion covering the day's proceedings. Walker informed the GOJ representatives that, based upon the JCAA's presentation and the discussions, he would recommend that Jamaica not be downgraded, adding that FAA/Washington would make the final determination in this regard. The Jamaican reps welcomed the news. Not surprisingly, Pickersgill quickly reported the news to the press. End Summary. ¶3. (U) An FAA Assessment Team, headed by FAA Flight Standards Southern Region Division Manager Frederick Walker, visited Jamaica March 15-17 to hold final consultations with the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA). The consultations were part of FAA's formal reassessment of the JCAA under FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program (Regs B, F). The consultations took place on March 16 at the JCAA headquarters in Kingston. A full list of participants is at Paragraph 9. ¶4. (SBU) Minister of Transport and Public Works Robert Pickersgill opened the meeting with a prepared statement in which he welcomed the FAA team and emphasized the GOJ's "political will" - up to and including that of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson - to do everything necessary to address FAA's concerns and to avoid a downgrade to Category Two. He described intensive efforts by himself and by JCAA officials since the FAA reassessment visit in December 2004, and expressed, on behalf of the GOJ, official gratitude to FAA Administrator Blakey and to former Ambassador Cobb for their engagement on the issue. Pickersgill said that JCAA officials were given "no leeway" on safety issues, and that he had repeatedly instructed JCAA staff to refer any such issues immediately to him to be shared with the Prime Minister, and resolved. ¶5. (SBU) Following his presentation Pickersgill departed, leaving Lt. Col. Oscar Derby, JCAA Deputy Director General, to conduct a PowerPoint presentation addressing, point by point, JCAA's program to address FAA's eight areas of concern: 1) primary aviation legislation; 2) aviation regulations; 3) CAA organization; 4) adequate technically qualified personnel; 5) inspector technical guidance; 6) licensing and certification; 7) records of continuing inspections and surveillance; and 8) resolution of safety issues. ¶6. (SBU) After further discussions among members of the two delegations, FAA team leader Walker informed Col. Lewis that the FAA team would recommend that, based upon the team's findings, Jamaica not be downgraded to Category Two, but with a caveat: that FAA will, upon notification by JCAA, return to Jamaica no later than August 2005, to ensure that the few outstanding issues have been resolved. The FAA team prepared a Record of Discussion covering the day's proceedings. After reviewing the draft text with JCAA officials for accuracy, Walker and Lewis signed it. (Copy faxed to EB/TRA and WHA/CAR - Ref C.) At several points throughout the discussions, Walker reminded the GOJ that FAA/Washington, not his assessment team, would make the final determination vis-a-vis Jamaica. ¶7. (U) Not surprisingly, Pickersgill held a press conference the following day, March 17, to announce that FAA had found that "...Jamaica continues to meet all international standards with regard to aviation safety and oversight." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Pickersgill, Col. Lewis and all the GOJ representatives present were extremely pleased and visibly relieved by the FAA team's preliminary recommendation. In fact, hours after the conclusion of the consultations, poloff received a telephone call from a senior GOJ official who expressed great enthusiasm at the news (which he and the entire Cabinet had just heard directly from Pickersgill),and reported that the Transport Minister was at that very moment enjoying a celebratory drink in the canteen at Parliament. Regrettably, politics being politics and Pickersgill an aspiring prime minister, Pickersgill and Air Jamaica Chairman Vin Lawrence have made several public (mis-)statements in which they implied, among other things, that FAA is responsible for the turmoil caused to Air Jamaica's operations (numerous canceled flights, stranded, angry passengers and diminished prestige for the national carrier), without mentioning key factors such as the serious operational deficiencies by Air Jamaica - under Lawrence - and JCAA's earlier failure - under Pickersgill - to provide proper, internationally required oversight. -------------- List of Participants -------------- ¶9. (U): GOJ Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Transport and Public Works Dr. Alwin Hayles, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Public Works Tony Kelly, Chairman, Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority Arturo Steward, Deputy Chairman, JCAA COL Torrance Lewis, Director General, JCAA LTC Oscar Derby, Deputy Director General, JCAA Marva Gordon Simmonds, Legal Counsel, JCAA Howard McCalla, JCAA Keith Hummel, JCAA Nari Williams-Singh, JCAA Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) Claudia Barnes, Chief, Legal Affairs Unit, MFAFT Gary Perkins, aviation consultant USG Frederick Walker Sergio Lopez, Miami Int'l Field Office, FAA Michael Jennison, Assistant Chief Counsel, FAA Mayte Ashby, Senior Representative, FAA Mark J. Powell, Chief, Political/Economic Section, Embassy Kingston TIGHE