Question NW3640 to the Minister of Transport

Reply:

(a) The total number of aircraft accidents that took place in the Western Cape that were reported to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACCA) in the past 10 years.

YEAR	ACCIDENTS
2014	11
2015	18
2016	10
2017	20
2018	11
2019	6
2020	12
2021	19
2022	18
2023	16
Grand Total	141

(b) The relevant details of each incident,

All the occurrences that warrant investigation by the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations Divisions are categorised in the table as above and a final report is published on the SACAA website. In almost all cases the pilot and the owner/operator provide information on a questionnaire, which has comprehensive initial information for Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigations Divisions to assess the level of response required and determine the scope of the investigation.

The causal factors of the accidents are as follows:

(c) The reasons for the accident that were reported for each incident:

The purpose of the investigation is to collect data that will inform the final case of the accident. The causes of the accidents are included in (b) above.

(d) total number of fatalities resulted from the accidents

	ACCIDENTS	FATAL ACCIDENTS	NUMBER OF FATALITIES
2014	11	0	0
2015	18	2	3
2016	10	1	1
2017	20	1	1
2018	11	3	4
2019	6	1	2
2020	12	1	3
2021	19	3	3
2022	18	1	1
2023	16	2	2
Grand Total	141	15	20

(e) Steps taken by the SACAA to improve air safety in the Western Cape?

The responsibility to reduce the number of accidents in general aviation is not the sole responsibility of the Regulator but of the industry who are required to comply to the standards set by the Regulator. The Regulator develops regulations, technical standards and guidance material to assist the industry to comply. At appropriate times and where negligence and non-compliance are evident, the Regulator takes enforcement actions against those affected operators and licence holders.

In terms of the number of accidents, the Western Cape accounts for the second largest number of accidents in the country. Over and above the safety recommendations issued by investigators to relevant operators and parties, the SACAA developed a General Aviation Safety Strategy (GASS) with industry to reduce the number of accidents in the general aviation sector where the above accidents are prevalent.

The solutions and activities undertaken by the Regulator and industry include developing educational guidance material to address the most pressing and common causes of accidents as informed by the investigation reports, publishing articles in a special publication developed for this purpose and undertaking a number of safety awareness and promotion events such as seminars, workshops, etc. with industry.

The reduction in the number of accidents realised just in the past two financial years i.e., 2021/22 and 2022/23, is an indication that the efforts of the GASS are bearing positive results for example, there has been a reduction in the number of accidents country-wide by 15% and a reduction of 25% in fatal accidents as well as a 29% reduction in fatalities meaning that fewer people perished as a result of aircraft accidents in the GA sector in the past financial year.