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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safr ... SKCN1IP353
/South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said on Thursday it had suspended all flights of state-run airline SA Express over safety concerns.
https://mg.co.za/article/2018-05-24-sa- ... from-today
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https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south- ... mpromised/
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https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sa-expr ... -concerns/
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/c ... s-15142702Thinking of booking an SA Express flight? Don’t even bother.
Numerous safety concerns together with financial woes and mismanagement
seem to have been the final nail in the coffin.
On Thursday, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)
suspended the air operator’s certificate of SA Express.
Nine of the airline’s 21 aircraft were also grounded,
therefore making it unable to operate.
The airline made headlines on Wednesday after Minister of Public Enterprises,
Pravin Gordhan,
revealed that the company had been involved in a dodgy deal
with one of the many Gupta-linked companies involved in state capture.
The SACAA explained that the airline was guilty
of serious non-compliance regarding official airline maintenance.
The nine aircrafts grounded were seen as posing a serious safety risk.
Speaking to the media on Thursday,
Gordhan also revealed that the company had
multiple pilots and crew members walk out from their job over their own safety concerns.
The pilots believed that it was simply too dangerous to fly those planes.
Reports show that the company’s technicians were unable
to order the new parts required for the aircraft due to the airline not having enough money.
The SACAA did not go into specifics around the non-compliance but
did reveal that five of the 17 findings amounted to severe non-compliance.
If SA Express intends to start operating again,
it will have to re-apply for its air operating certificate,
gain approval from the aircraft maintenance organisation
and airworthy certificates for all the grounded aircraft.
Gordhan also confirmed that South African Airways (SAA) SA Express and the state-owned Mango will merge together.
is a more "official acccount"...
http://aeronauticsonline.com/south-afri ... thorities/
The SACAA also removed the Certificates of Airworthiness
for nine aircraft in SA Express’ fleet due to individual safety concerns.
Those nine planes cannot operate for any owner
until the owner of the plane has applied for
a new airworthiness certificate for the planes
and can present evidence that the aircraft is able to safely fly.
The decision came after the SACAA conducted audits at SA Express and found seventeen problems,
five of which are classified as ‘very serious safety or security risks’.
SACAA also said in a statement that they made the decision after several incidents with the airline.
Just this month, for example,
an SAA Express flight to Johannesburg was diverted after a mid-flight engine failure.
“SA Express could not ensure that operational requirements,
and most importantly, safety obligations are met at all times.
Therefore, the grounding of its operations was inevitable,” the SACAA said.
SA Express operated a fleet of 21 aircraft, including Bombardier Dash 8s and CRJs.
The fleet had an average age of 15 years.
Though the entire fleet of SA Express has been grounded,
only nine of the aircraft have gotten their airworthiness certificates revoked,
meaning that all the other aircraft can still operate for another carrier.