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The SAA plane carrying the second batch of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine from Belgium last month.
- Pibatch associations hI have raised concerns about SAA’s alleged failure to report an incident on time.
- The plane involved in the incident collected Covid-19 vaccines from Brussels.
- The incident was reported to the South African Civil Aviation Authority three weeks after it took place.
Pilot associations have expressed concern about the alleged failure of SAA to report a take-off incident on time on a flight carrying Covid-19 vaccines from Brussels.
The flight reportedly encountered difficulties during takeoff on February 24. However, the incident was only reported to the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) three weeks later.
Business Maverick reported that the airline crew allegedly miscalculated takeoff weight and that the plane was in danger of stalling due to low speed. But the situation was avoided when the aircraft’s security system took over.
According to SACAA spokesperson Kabelo Ledwaba, the regulations stipulate that all aviation accidents must be reported within 24 hours, serious incidents within 48 hours, and incidents within 72 hours.
“The report of said incident was reported to the South African Civil Aviation Authority and the Accident and Incident Investigation Division (AIID) on the night of March 17, 2021,” Ledwaba told News24.
SEE | Covid-19: Second batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrives on SAA flight from Belgium
The pilot unions have also questioned the process the SAA followed.
The president of Air Line Pilots’ Association SA, Carl Bollweg, was concerned that the incident had not been reported in time.
“It is human to make mistakes, but when we do make a mistake, one must acknowledge it. That is why we have a ‘fair culture. saying.
Bollweg added that he could not comment on why the flight still took off and questioned why the regulator would have waived certain issues to allow the flight to proceed.
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SAA Pilots Association President Grant Back said the association was “aware of the automated reporting from aircraft monitoring software” during the takeoff phase of the flight.
“We have written to SAA management and business rescue professionals raising our concerns about the status of SAA’s safety management system and requesting that CAA-approved processes be followed to establish what occurred. We have not received a response. and we hope that the correct policy and procedures will be followed in the investigation of this security event, “he said.
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Meanwhile, the district attorney has asked for the incident to be investigated. The party wants an independent body to carry out the investigation, claiming that the South African Civil Aviation Authority is under the influence of SAA.
SAA has not provided any comments at time of publication.
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