South Africa has been ranked among the safest aviation jurisdictions in the world, but questions remain about a string of aviation events over the past five years.
The SA Civil Aviation Authority said this week the country had achieved a preliminary score of 95.12% after an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit, placing South Africa eighth globally and first in Africa.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said in a statement that this reflected the strength of the systems the country has in place, while South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) director Poppy Khoza said it was further supported by more than four decades of aviation without a fatal commercial airline accident.
Industry concerns and raised regulatory questions
An aviation professional, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals from the regulator, said while it is a strong result, it does not erase the awkward questions left by a string of serious aviation events involving SAA, FlySafair and even the regulator’s own aircraft in the past five years.
In January 2020, a Cessna S550 Citation SII owned and operated by the authority crashed in Georgia while being used to calibrate airport runway equipment.
Captain Thabiso Tolo, first officer Tebogo Lekalakala and flight inspector Gugu Mnguni died.
Sacaa’s initial report cited pilot error, but an Ethiopian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau probe, requested after families pushed for an independent investigation, also alleged maintenance and regulatory shortcomings.
It found that the aircraft had not been properly maintained, had no valid certificate of airworthiness, and was not suitable for the crew to fly. Sacaa rejected the Ethiopian report, saying it contained “gross mistakes and inaccurate references”.
The Ethiopian team also recommended that accident investigations be independent from state aviation authorities and other bodies that could interfere with objectivity.
It is an ICAO requirement, but to date, South Africa has not complied to the letter, with SACAA still in control of the accident investigation division.
The George crash in particular, said the aviation insider, involved the regulator as operator.
Earlier reporting by The Citizen showed the crew had allegedly complained months before the crash about alleged non-compliance, including a non-compliant flight data recorder.
2021 SAA Brussels flight incident
Then came SAA flight SA4272 to Brussels on 24 February, 2021,chartered to collect Covid shots.
The Airbus A340-600 suffered an alpha floor event shortly after take-off from OR Tambo International Airport.
The aircraft was allegedly close to stalling, but automated systems intervened and saved it.
The incident was not reported by SAA in the regulated window. The aviation authority later said the incident should have been reported within 72 hours.
A checklist failure and a possible 90-ton weight discrepancy in the flight management system were identified as key concerns.
Months later, Sacaa said it would never publish the report into the event because it had not been probed nor classified as a serious incident and therefore did not fall under the Accident and Incident Investigation Division reports published on its website.
2022 engine surge incident
In April 2022, an SAA Airbus A330-300 with passengers and crew on board, flying from Accra to Johannesburg, experienced engine surges, allegedly after earlier fuel contamination in Ghana.
A former commercial pilot said passengers should not have been on board a flight suspected of burning contaminated fuel.
SAA, in turn, said nobody was in danger, and the aviation authority said the incident was reported within the 72-hour window.
2023 FlySafair near-miss
In June 2023, FlySafair flight FA268 from Johannesburg to Durban plunged near King Shaka International during a go-around to land.
The Boeing 737 descended to around 105m above ground at more than 637km/h, narrowly clearing Mount Edgecombe and the M41 freeway.
The aircraft later landed safely. Yet, the incident only reached Sacaa after an anonymous whistle-blower tip-off.
