DA accuses Mbalula of trying to protect SACAA from being held to account

Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister of transport Chris Hunsinger alleged yesterday that Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula is trying to protect the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) from being held to account.

Hunsinger questioned why an SAA aircraft, scheduled from Ghana, was the only aircraft to experience fuel contamination.

He said: “This resulted in nearly a day’s delay. Reportedly, when the engines started to surge, the crew did not follow the normal safety procedures, which put the aircraft and everyone on board in danger.

“Significant damage to the engines due to water contamination were discovered and all the engines had to be replaced.”

He was also vocal about the alleged delay in reporting the incident: “What the DA finds most concerning is the fact that SACAA reportedly only learned of the incident on 25 April, 2022 and that it was not reported by SAA as procedure dictates, but by the Ghanaian Civil Aviation Authority. SAA also failed to report the alpha floor event.”

Hunsinger said that there must be an investigation into the Accra contamination incident, but that the CAA should not be doing it. It should be done independently.

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A previous independent accident report saw Mbalula attempt to muzzle the outcome. The ZSCAR crash in 2020 was a fatal incident in George where the CAA’s own airport calibrating, light aircraft went down, killing everyone on board.

A damning report followed an investigation conducted by the Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Bureau followed.

He said: “The minister and SACAA seem to have a disregard for aviation safety, which is a serious concern. Three people died in the ZS-CAR crash.”

He accused Mbalula of trying to step in and protect the regulator when the minister indicated that he would be lodging an appeal against the Ethiopian findings. He also accused the CAA of a lax attitude toward air safety.