HE Governor Nigel Phillips CBE has today announced, on behalf of Executive Council, an independent investigation into the causes of the St Helena Airport closure to commercial air services between 5 and 17 February 2026.
Intended to establish the root cause and learn lessons to prevent future recurrence, a selection exercise will be taken forward to identify a suitable, independent contractor to undertake the investigation. This will also determine the cost of the investigation. The contracting will be taken forward by St Helena Government.
The investigation will focus on understanding why all three fire tenders developed similar faults within a matter of weeks of each other. It is for investigators to decide who they wish to talk to and what they wish to examine but it is likely that they will want to review commissioning, usage, servicing and maintenance, consumables and other areas to build a comprehensive understanding.
It is important that we keep the scope proportionate and relevant, with a view to learning lessons before the delivery and commissioning of our new airport fire tenders, later in the year.
We are grateful to St Helena Airport Limited and other partners for their co-operation in this matter.
Once complete, we will consider the findings of the investigation before deciding if further work is necessary. A summary of the findings will be made public, ensuring transparency.
A further update will be issued once an investigator has been appointed and the timescales for reporting better understood.
