Lt. Col. (ret’d)Egbert Field commenced his aviation career fifty two (52) years ago at the tender age of 18 years. In 1970 he attended the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida where he obtained his Commercial Pilot Licence with Instrument and Multi-engine ratings. He joined the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in 1972 as an Officer Cadet. In his twenty-three (23) years at the Air Corp he served as Officer- in-Charge (fixed wing), Training and Check pilot. He had the honour serving as the Executive pilot to three Presidents for thirteen (13) years and Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff on Aviation matters.
After being trained in the United Kingdom as an Instrument and Type rating examiner he was designated as a Check airman for the then Civil Aviation Department in 1992. He was later appointed Chief Pilot/Director of Operations of the succeeding Guyana Airways 2000 Boeing 757 International operation.
He transitioned to the Regulatory side of Aviation becoming the first Operations Inspector of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority in 2002. In this position he continued his work in aviation with the Oversight of the aviation industry. Before departing from the Guyana CAA in 2003, he was responsible for the certification of all eight (8) Air Operators in the Guyana aviation industry.
Joining the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) in 2004 as an Operations Inspector with responsibility for the oversight of Air Jamaica Limited as its Principal Operations Inspector, he became the Manager, Flight Operations Oversight for the Authority in 2007 before rising to the position of Director, Flight Safety Department. Added to this portfolio were the duties of a Transnational Inspector for the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS). In this capacity he assisted other Caribbean countries with oversight of their Air operators. In August 2016 he became the Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.
Lt. Col. Egbert Field has accumulated over 18,000 flight hours and in the process, is qualified on a number of aircraft including but not limited to the Beech King Air 200, the Skyvan, Y-12, the Hawker Siddley 748, the Russian made Tupolev 154, the Airbus 320/321, the Boeing 707 and Boeing 757/767 etc.
As a senior CAA Inspector he has attended a wealth of courses, lectures, and symposiums at the FAA Academy, International Civil Aviation Organisation, National Transportation Safety Board, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, University of Southern California etc. in every area of air operations namely: Accident Investigation, Audit Procedures, Enforcement and Compliance, Approved Examiner, Air Operator Certification, Safety Management Systems, Evaluation of Aviation Management Systems, Personnel Licencing, Aircraft Dispatcher, Aviation Leaders Program in Public Policy, Senior Civil Aviation Authority Management etc. Apart from being a Check Airman and examiner, he is also a certified ICAO Instructor.
In May 2019, Lt. Col. Egbert Field was honored by the Government of Guyana with a National Award, the Golden Arrow of Achievement Award (A.A) for his Long and Exceptional service in the field of Aviation as a Military and Commercial Pilot and as an Administrator in Regulatory Aviation. In March 2023 he also received the 2023 “Katerina and George Latrou Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 2023 Air Transport Awards ceremony in Montreal.
He sits on the Board of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) which overlooks Aviation in the Caricom states.