South African Airways (SAA) airbus A340. Picture: iStock
A number of pilots and cabin crew at South African Airways may have to be grounded as their licences would have been rendered invalid because they were renewed with illegally issued medical fitness certificates.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) said yesterday it had refused to renew the licence of SAA’s chief medical officer, Dr Nonhlanhla Sishaba, to issue medical certificates after she was found to not have complied with the strict rules governing such flight crew tests.
The action has potentially rendered a number of cabin crew and pilots’ licences illegal.
The doctor stands accused of issuing fraudulent medical certificates to crew and pilots, despite the regulator’s non-renewal of her licence in March, that is a consequence of an investigation into alleged irregularities in her conduct.
In 2023, an enforcement action by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) resulted in a penalty being issued to her for noncompliance.
Her designation, or authority to issue medical fitness certification expired on 31 March this year and has not been renewed, pending the ongoing investigations into her conduct.
CAA confirmed that the authority continues to investigate irregularities surrounding Sishaba’s conduct. The probe has flagged severe noncompliances, including the use of unauthorised personnel to conduct medical assessments.
While Sishaba’s designation was not renewed, she purportedly remains in the employ of SAA and allegedly continued issuing medical certificates illegally.
Poppy Khoza, director of civil aviation at Sacaa, did not mince words in the regulator’s statement.
“We view these allegations in a very serious light as they have a direct impact on the ability of aviation personnel to perform their duties in a safe manner.
“Ensuring the safety of aviation services is our top priority and we will pursue all available legal measures to resolve this issue swiftly,” Khoza said.
Sishaba’s conduct may also impact more aviation operators than just SAA, as sources hinted that dubious certifications by the doctor may be spread across the industry.
In its statement, the CAA said “the director of civil aviation has notified known operators who used Sishaba’s services and has issued a general notice to the aviation industry with further instructions”.
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A concerned SAA pilot voiced concern over the scale of the issue.
“I suspect many of our cabin crew and a good portion of the pilot body have been certified by Sishaba at some point or another during her tenure.”
Personnel suspected of having obtained these dubious medical certificates must be grounded immediately, he said, adding that if other airline’s staff are impacted, as allegations suggest, it could spell a loss of confidence in the credibility of airmanship licences in the country.
The pilot cited a previous example where an administrative error caused havoc in SAA’s training department.
“A few years ago, an instructor’s licence had an admin issue – he was fully qualified, but one ‘t’ that wasn’t crossed in his assessment had him grounded.
“Any people he trained at SAA during that time were also deemed to have invalid training.
“I see no reason why such stringent rules wouldn’t be applied now,” the pilot said.
“It’s rotten, like much inside SAA. If I had gone to Sishaba for my medical, I’d now be illegal.”
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The CAA’s Phindiwe Gwebu said the regulator’s records show Sishaba did not issue any medicals to SAA staff post the lapsing of her designation.
“However, this doesn’t mean they will not be implicated by her previous transgressions before the designation lapsed.
“Hence all licence holders who were examined by her, regardless of which operator they belong to, are given 15 working days to redo their medicals or prove to the Sacaa that they are compliant,” Gwebu said.
“Not everyone seen by her is noncompliant, but we are requesting even those who have the accurate reports to still report to Sacaa for verification.”
The doctor was blocked from all CAA systems, following her alleged transgressions.
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Wayne Duvenage, CEO of Outa (Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse), raised the alarm about the governance failures that allowed this situation to escalate.
“If she has been struck off the roll, so to speak, how is it possible that SAA didn’t know this?
“Where are the checks and balances,” Duvenhage asked.
The scandal surrounding SAA’s chief medical officer adds to the list now tainting SAA’s post-business rescue rebirth.
Previously, The Citizen reported on the alpha floor near-stall incident on a Covid vaccine run out of Johannesburg, breaking noise abatement regulations in Belgian airspace, an unsecured SAA aircraft rolling on the ramp at OR Tambo International Airport and damaging a FlySafair Boeing 737.
More recently, allegations and criminal complaints were levelled against senior SAA executive Carla da Silva for misappropriation of sensitive information and other incorporeal property belonging to a competitor. “There is clearly a major governance failure at SAA,” said Duvenage.
Late yesterday, an SAA insider said the doctor had been suspended but by the time of going to press, the airline had not responded to our queries.
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