The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Mnaku Mbani
19 August 2008
Pilots, air navigators and aircraft engineers will now avoid the 'blame game' related to aviation accidents following a new plan aimed at promoting safety and security oversights.
Aviation stakeholders and consumer interest group in the EAC member states held a meeting in Arusha this week to discuss the plan, to be driven by a roadmap for creating a collective responsibility among the industry's players and governments.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), about 80 per cent of all aviation accidents are caused by human error involving pilots, navigators, engineers and controllers.
According to ICAO, Africa has higher aviation accident rate (about nine per one million departures, while the global rate is 1.1 per same departures) than other continents. The plan's target is to bring down the African rate to not more than twice a global rate by 2011.
The plan has 12 focus areas of implementation namely incident reporting, accident investigation, regional safety programme, use of safety management system to generation of more experts in safety.
"We are very enthusiastic to see this plan comes into force so that travelers will be confident with air travel," said Mr Charles Mgana, chairman of the Aviation Consumer Consultative Council (TCAA-CCC).
Experts and service providers believe aviation accidents are caused mainly by human error but there are other factors as well such as poor airport infrastructure, meteorological factors and shortage of experts.
Mr Mgana said his council is concerned with the loss of life and property resulting from aviation accidents and is optimistic that the plan's objective would be reached.
"We believe the plan brings positive results in the industry because it will dig down to the root cause of aviation accidents collectively," he told the Business Review.
"We thank God Tanzania has not had a major accident involving scheduled airlines; nevertheless, the government is very much concerned with, and apprehensive of fatalities and loss from accidents," said minister for infrastructure development Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa.
He admitted that in the last six years the country suffered six fatal accidents involving general aviation, which claimed 18 lives and completely destroyed aircraft. Six of these were reported in the last eight months, Dr Shukuru added.
He said the government has directed Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) to enhance its oversight of the industry, particularly in the operations.
There were plans to establish a Safety and Environment Unit, which will be responsible for facilitating the creation of a safety bureau for all modes of transport, he noted.
"The possibilities of establishing an EAC regional body for air accident investigation is something to be looked into seriously," he told participants at the meeting.
TCAA director general Engineer Magreth Munyagi said: "Aviation safety is becoming a concern that's why we have decided to come up with the collective roadmap," she told the Business Review.
Called Global Aviation Safety Roadmap, the initiative marks the first unified and coordinated accident reduction measure developed by both governments and industry.
She said the roadmap will increase the industry's oversight, with aircraft purchase, regular maintenance, air navigation, and registration of pilots and safety of professionals and airports' infrastructure inspection.
Eng. Munyagi added: "It is evident that infrastructure in most of our airports lack or have poor facilities for crucial safety operations such as fences and runways," she said.
She said this was a real problem but added that Tanzania had never experienced a civil aviation accident over the last ten years which put its rate at zero per million departures. However, the situation was different with government aircraft.
But lack of capacity in investigation and reporting was another hindering factor."As manufactures, we are very concerned with the aviation accidents and we are determined to work with all stakeholders in this own formulated roadmap," said Mr Gerardo Hueto, the programme manager, responsible for regional safety aviation and commercial airplanes at Boeing.
He told the Business Review in Arusha that being a part of the Industry Safety Strategy Group (ISSG) which formulated the roadmap, Boeing will make sure that all necessary support is given to airlines and governments.
Members of the group are International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airbus, Boeing, Airports Council International (ACI), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA).
"It is important to recognise that the development of the civil aviation industry has for all time been based on collaboration and cooperation among many players," said the EAC secretary general Dr Juma Mwapachu.
He said the community's development strategy (2006-2010) places emphasis on developing a safe, secure and efficient air transport system through collaborative efforts.
The Arusha-based regional safety and security oversight agency (CASSOA) attests to the EAC commitment towards promoting aviation safety, he added.
"It is the earnest hope of the EAC that CASSOA will grow to become an important player in enhancing a safe and secure civil aviation industry within our region," he said.
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