Still no new plane after crash that killed three crew members

A year after the plane crash that claimed the lives of three SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) crew, the regulator has not been able to replace the aircraft – due to tender red tape and lack of funding – with Sacaa opting to appoint a flight inspection service provider to carry out the calibration of the country’s airports navigation system.

Captain Thabiso Tolo, 49, first officer Tebogo Lekalakala, 33, and flight inspector Gugu Mnguni, 36, died when the Cessna S550 Citation SII plane crashed in the mountainous area of George – still subject of an investigation.

According to Sacaa spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu, the appointment of the flight inspection service provider followed unsuccessful attempts by the regulator to buy a new aircraft.

“It is public knowledge that the Sacaa went on tender three times to buy an aircraft,” Gwebu said.

“All three attempts did not yield any positive outcome with Sacaa ultimately opting to buy directly from the [original equipment manufacturer]. An application was submitted and approved by the National Treasury but the process coincided with the outbreak of Covid, something which impacted the Sacaa finances significantly.”

Gwebu said the position remains until they are able to afford such a purchase.

“Sacaa is monitoring its financial situation closely and the aircraft will be bought as soon as the organisation can afford to purchase one.”

Asked if calibration was on track in all airports, Gwebu said: “All facilities are operational, except those that are unserviceable. The owners will have to first service or maintain them and then invite us to calibrate.”

In terms of minutes of the aviation regulator’s audit and risk committee meetings seen by The Citizen, the Sacaa board, which met on 29 January, 2016, approved the flight inspection unit (FIU) acquisition and disposal strategy – later making a recommendation to government.

Tedious tender processes, which followed government approval in 2018 for Sacaa to procure a new FIU aircraft included stringent conditions to be followed by the regulator.

Meanwhile, aviation technical expert Sputla Lekalakala, whose wife Tebogo perished in the plane crash, has questioned the adherence of safety standards by Sacaa aircraft before the tragedy.

The 1 December, 2019, confidential Sacaa FIU report compiled by senior flight inspector Ian Qvist lifted the lid on the condition of the aircraft before the crash, with defects including:

• Concerns by the crew who submitted the report on 7 November 2019 on the state of the engine, engulfed with a smell of oil and smoke in cabin.
• Smoke detected in cockpit, rejecting takeoff – leading to the aircraft being temporarily grounded to assess why smoke entered the cockpit.

The Qvist report said: “After further discussion with all FIU members… it was decided the recent incidents be escalated from a maintenance matter to a safety concern.”
– brians@citizen.co.za