Question NW1597 to the Minister of Transport
14 June 2016 - NW1597
De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Transport
(a) What are the full reasons for non-compliance of SA Express which led to the SA Civil Aviation Authority grounding the specified entity from flying, (b) what was the timeframe given for the specified entity to become compliant, (c) what follow-up inspections were undertaken in this regard, (d) (i) when and (ii) by whom were the specified inspections conducted and (e) what were the results of the specified inspections in each specified case?
Reply:
South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)
(a) Iam informed that the reasons where the management and implementation of corrective actions and measures to rectify operational and maintenance issues identified during operations.
(b) SA Express was given seven (7) days to comply, i.e. provide an adequate corrective action plan to address identified inefficiencies in their systems.
(c) Following the suspension of SA Epress’ air operator certificate, the South African Civial Aviation Authority (SACAA) has intensified its oversight over this operator. The SACAA’s continued inspections included an audit of the organisation’s capabilities and internal control in relation to airline/flight operations and aircraft maintenance. In addition, the SACAA continues to focus on:
- Monitoring the effective implementation of the operator’s corrective action plan submitted following the suspension of their approval;
- Aircraft Maintenance Records; and
- Rectification of Maintenance Defects.
(d) (i), Inspections took plance on 02 and 03 June 2016; (ii) conducted by the SACAA’s Authorised Officers (Safety Oversight Inspectors) from the SACAA’s Aviation Operations Division.
(e) Implementation of the SA Express Corrective Action Plan is on-going and is progressing well. SACAA has not picked up a repeat of the issues raised in the audit that led to the suspension of the operator’s Air Operator Certificate.