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'Human factor' causes crashes
05/01/2008 14:53 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The recent spate of light aircraft accidents was largely a result of human error and negligence, the Civil Aviation Authority 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.
Thwala said often aircraft problems were caused when people did not stick to basic procedures such as conducting flight control pre-inspections.
"Before take off, (inspections were needed) to see if everything was in order visually, to check if everything is working."
Thwala said pilots might also sometimes disregard basic rules.
For example, he said last year a pilot died in Kwazulu-Natal because he took off in a light aircraft from Virginia, despite being advised the weather was bad - and he did not have a rating that qualified him to fly in such weather conditions.
Once he flew above the clouds, he no longer was able to ascertain where he was and eventually flew too low out of the clouds and crashed in to a house.
Mechanical problems
"If you are advised you can't take off, you need to (adhere to that).
"The trend that we are seeing over a period of time, all points out that we disregard the basics."
Thwala said the other predominant cause of light aircraft accidents seemed to be linked to mechanical problems.
In this cases there might be concerns around maintenance, said Thwala.
Sometimes pilots saw that aircraft were not airworthy, but were forced into flying them by the owners of the planes who wanted to make money.
"Again, here the 'human factor' is the problem".
Thwala said the CAA was conducting investigations into why two light aircraft had to make emergency landings in Wonderboom earlier this week.
"When an accident happens, no recurrence should take place," he said.
Preliminary investigations into why the undercarriage of one of the planes and the engine on another were not functioning, would be completed in two weeks time, said Thwala.
He said investigators were leaving the site of the recent light aircraft crash in the Swartberg mountains on Friday.
Four people, a Mossel Bay mother, her two teenage daughters and the mother's boyfriend - who was also the pilot - died in the crash.
He said the engine of this craft would be sent for tests to determine if it had been faulty.
'Safety comes first'
The CAA would also investigate if visibility was a problem - or if the pilot might have been flying too low.
Thwala said the CAA had a two-pronged programme to try to increase safety adherence by light aircraft users.
A long-term strategy was to change the culture of the aviation industry where basic regulations were not taken seriously.
A culture where "safety comes first" must be implemented, said Thwala.
In the short term, the CAA wanted to deal with the individuals who disregarded regulations by revoking their pilot licences.
- SAPA
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