China plane crash sparked concern but SA’s aviation reputation is safe

The reassurance by an industry expert that we should not worry about the safety of the Boeing 737-800 is not only good news for the traveller, but also for South Africa’s excellent air safety reputation.

South Africans had cause for concern as most carriers operate the 737-800 Next-Generation aircraft. This is the aircraft that crashed in China on Monday, killing all 123 passengers and nine crew members on board.

The air crash came just a week after Comair brands kulula.com and British Airways SA, which also operate 737s, including the 800 series, were grounded for five days over its safety management system compliance following a series of safety-related incidents.

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However, as the news of the China air crash reached our shores, FlySafair, which operates one of the largest fleets of the aircraft type, was quick to quell fears, saying in SA “most carriers operate the 737-800 Next Generation aircraft”, which has “a phenomenal track record for safety and reliability”.

And an industry safety expert told The Citizen grounding a fleet of reliable aircraft could be a cautionary exercise pending an investigation.

He said it may also be a public relations exercise to show how seriously the carrier takes safety.

And, better still, aircraft engineer and former aviation head of operations Sybrand Strachan said the Boeing 737-800 is one of the best aircraft designed and built.