How safe is our country’s state of aviation?
Amended drone usage regulations by the Civil Aviation Authority have received comments that they did not take people’s right to privacy into account.
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/ 11 November 2011
An urgent probe is underway at Airlink after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at OR Tambo International Airport.
Lanseria airport has reopened after the wreckage of a plane which had to belly land was removed from its runway on Sunday.
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/ 24 December 2009
Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele has patted the CAA warmly on the head for the swift action it took to ground the Jetstream fleet of Airlink.
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/ 14 January 2009
The body of a Johannesburg pilot, who went missing over the weekend, was found in the wreckage of his light aircraft near Northam on Wednesday.
Claims that the Civil Aviation Authority is facing possible downgrading by the US Federal Aviation Association are not true, a spokesperson says.
A Sudanese airliner coming from Amman and Damascus burst into flames after landing in Khartoum on Tuesday night, killing at least 33.
At least 40 potential buyers have expressed an interest in Nationwide, the airline’s provisional liquidators, Alta-Tshwane Trust, said on Thursday. In a statement, the trust said the potential buyers had all insisted on full financial and operational information on the company.
Nationwide Airlines has been placed under provisional liquidation, an attorney for the company said on Wednesday. "We applied yesterday [Tuesday] at 3pm and were placed under provisional liquidation," said Haroon Maher. On Tuesday passengers were stranded when the airline announced that it had ceased operations due to cash-flow problems.
Travel agent Flight Centre said it was ”blindsided” by the sudden closure of Nationwide Airlines and had gone into a crisis meeting to decide how to deal with the matter, with no information forthcoming from the airline, a spokesperson said. ”We were absolutely blindsided, we were completely unaware,” said Amanda Hardy.
Nationwide Airline has ceased operations until further notice, the airline announced on Tuesday. ”Our cash-flow has become critical and as a result have decided to voluntarily cease all flight operations until further notice,” said chief executive Vernon Bricknell.
A 44-year-old pilot who died in a light aircraft crash in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve on Tuesday had requested to make an emergency landing at Lanseria Airport, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. Captain Jacob Raboroko said that the pilot, Trevor Emmanuel, was flying from Durban to an unknown destination when his aircraft ran low on fuel.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister has dismissed as ”utter rubbish” claims by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that the political playing field is uneven ahead of national polls. Zimbabweans are preparing to elect a new president, Parliament and local councillors on March 29, but the MDC has expressed fears of vote rigging.
Two men died when their light aircraft crashed on a farm near Van Reenen on Saturday afternoon, said Free State police. The two-seater light aircraft went down approximately 45km south of Harrismith, near the N3 freeway, said ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech. According to witnesses on the scene, the aircraft had completed several flights during the day.
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/ 21 January 2008
South African Civil Aviation Authority CEO Captain Colin Jordaan has denied reports that the airline, Nationwide, had neglected to properly maintain its fleet. In a statement issued on Monday, Jordaan rejected as incorrect media reports where he was quoted as saying: ”Nationwide had neglected maintenance and its records were not kept properly.”
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/ 21 January 2008
South African Civil Aviation Authority CEO Captain Colin Jordaan has denied reports that the airline, Nationwide, had neglected to properly maintain its fleet. In a statement issued on Monday, Jordaan rejected as incorrect media reports where he was quoted as saying: ”Nationwide had neglected maintenance and its records were not kept properly.”
A Nationwide aircraft — flying from Livingstone in Zambia to Johannesburg — was forced to turn back a few minutes into the flight due to a mechanical fault, the airline said on Wednesday. Nationwide corporate quality director Rodger Whittle said flight 203 had to turn back because hydraulic fluid was leaking from a faulty pipe.
South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) safety standards compare favourably with the best in the world, a United States Federation Administration Audit report said on Monday. CAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said the audit was conducted from July 30 to August 2 2007, and the report was released on Monday.
A Boeing 747 was forced to return to OR Tambo International Airport after an engine failed more than one hour into the flight, KLM said on Monday. Air France and KLM general manager Yeshwant Pawar said flight 592 was on its way to Amsterdam when engine number one failed only one-and-a-half hours into the flight.
Nationwide Airlines has resumed all flights in the Eastern and southern Cape after it was grounded for safety reasons last year, a media report said on Monday. Nationwide corporate quality director Rodger Whittle said it was safe to say the airline was ”back to normal”.
A determined search by internet-coordinated volunteers on Saturday found the body of pilot Dirk Boosyen 11 days after he went missing in the Bavianskloof region of the Eastern Cape, police said on Sunday. ”They discovered the burnt-out wreck at about 6pm [on Saturday] in the Matjiesfontien farm in the Baviaanskloof area on the peaks of the mountain,” said Captain John Fobian.
The recent spate of light-aircraft accidents was largely a result of human error and negligence, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Friday. ”It’s not the machine that is a problem — it’s the human; the pilot, the maintenance engineer …” said the CAA’s executive manager of air-safety investigations, Gilbert Thwala.
The four people killed in a light aircraft crash in the Swartberg Mountains on Tuesday have been identified by relatives, Western Cape police said on Wednesday. The plane that was en route to Pretoria from Mossel bay was piloted by 51-year-old Phillip Ginsberg from Pretoria.
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/ 7 December 2007
The South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) outgoing chief executive, Zakes Myeza, has no plans following his resignation this week. Myeza said he joined an ”almost dysfunctional” CAA 20 months ago, when it had functioned without a permanent chief executive for almost three years.
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/ 5 December 2007
Nationwide is hopeful it could have a plane in the air on Friday, the company said on Wednesday. ”That’s what we’re hoping, but it’s not guaranteed,” said Nationwide spokeswoman Charmaine Thome. ”We don’t want to get people’s hopes up.” If possible, a plane would fly to London on Friday, she said.
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/ 4 December 2007
The embattled South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suffered yet another blow on Tuesday with the resignation of its CEO, Zakes Myeza. Myeza was touted as the saviour of the CAA when he took office in February last year, becoming the first permanent appointee to the post in years — at least since the debacle surrounding Trevor Abrahams.
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/ 4 December 2007
The South African Civil Aviation Authority and Nationwide Airlines have agreed to a media blackout regarding the grounding of the carrier. They said they would no longer make independent statements to the press, but would speak jointly on the process, it was announced on Tuesday.
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/ 3 December 2007
Acting commissioner of civil aviation Gawie Bestbier has upheld the suspension of Nationwide airlines by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). ”He reviewed both parties’ statements and made an independent decision earlier today [Monday],” CAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said. She said Bestbier gave Nationwide guidelines on how to meet the CAA’s requirements.
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/ 3 December 2007
South African Airways (SAA) apologised to a passenger after she broke a leg when her flight from Washington hit a patch of turbulence, a media report said on Monday. Ronel Stevens was asleep, stretched out over two seats, when the aircraft hit an air pocket.
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/ 2 December 2007
It was unlikely that grounded airline Nationwide would be given permission for take-off to London on Sunday night, said the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Inspectors had spent most of the day examining the Boeing 767 the airline intended using on the flight, said CAA aircraft safety executive manager Obert Chakarisa.
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/ 2 December 2007
Grounded carrier Nationwide has leased an aircraft from Dutch airline KLM to fly passengers to London on Sunday night, said the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). However, Nationwide would have to prove that this aircraft complied with civil aviation safety requirements before it would be allowed to fly, said a CAA spokesperson.