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One of the cardinal rules of aviation is that there is complete transparency when it comes to incidents or accidents, even when there are no passenger or crew fatalities.
This is because thorough investigations can uncover unexpected flaws in aircraft design, or maintenance, or in flight crew procedures.
That is why the circumstances surrounding the near-crash of FlySafair’s Flight 268 in June last year – after attempting a go around from King Shaka International Airport in Durban – are so disturbing.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) said it first heard of the incident – which FlySafair itself later admitted was “serious” – from an anonymous whistle-blower. This was before the airline itself reported it, three months after it happened.
By that time, the data from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder had been overwritten on other flights.
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If that was the case, it is difficult to understand how Sacaa’s investigation could have determined that, not only was the incident “minor”, but not worth placing on its website, a procedure normally followed for most aviation incidents… part of the “learn from mistakes” culture followed worldwide.
The truth is Flight 268 was out of control and plunging toward the earth at an horrendous speed before the pilots, fortunately, managed to recover seconds before impact, and land safely.
To then launch an attack not only on its competitors and our reporter – as FlySafair’s chief marketing officer, Kirby Gordon did – is astounding.
His incorrect and defamatory slurs notwithstanding, it showed an immaturity not befitting someone in a senior position in an airline where safety is supposed to be of paramount importance.
Mistakes happen and in aviation, where such a lot is at stake, it is important that transparency and level-headedness are the watchwords of those who transport us through the skies.
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