THE cabinet has directed local experts to team up with their foreign counterparts in the aviation industry to investigate the source of the accident involving Precision Air and eventually come up with measures to avert such incidences in the future.
Speaking to journalists in Dodoma on Monday, the Director of Information Services (Maelezo) and Chief Government Spokesperson, Mr Gerson Msigwa, said the directives followed a cabinet meeting chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Monday.
According to Mr Msigwa, the cabinet also wants disaster management units to be equipped and well prepared for such accidents in the future.
"Tanzania is a member of a number of international aviation conventions; thus, the investigations will be guided by the terms of the conventions on such accidents, especially by adhering to standards and contracts running the aviation industry globally," Mr Msigwa explained.
He added that the investigation team started work when the accident occurred on November 6, this year, and reports will be in issued in three phases.
Mr Msigwa explained further that the accident bulletin will be issued within 14 days after the occurance, while the preliminary report will be submitted within 30-days and final report within 12-months from the date it happened.
According to Mr Msigwa, the cabinet also paid special tributes to stakeholders, fishermen and all who took part in rescuing passengers during the accident-which involved Precision Air flight from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza via Bukoba.
Mr Msigwa elaborated further that a team of experts from ATR, the manufacturer of the ill-fated aircraft, jetted in the country on November 7, this year to join other experts in investigating the cause of the tragedy.
The aircraft, Precision Air's 48-seater 5H-PWF, ATR42-500 - carrying 39 passengers (38 adults and one infant) and four crew members - crash-landed on Lake Victoria at 8.53am on November 6, this year, as it was attempting to land at Bukoba Airport, killing 19 people on board and 24 survived.
Speaking in Bukoba after the incident, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa assured Tanzanians that the flight still remained the safest mode of transportation, reiterating the government's resolve to strengthen the sector through modern equipment and regular training on staff under the ministry responsible.
He said a probe team formed by the government would make an analysis and give a technical report on what happened during the accident. The technical team would comprise experts from different ministers.
Under international rules, the locally-led investigation would include participation of experts from France, where the plane was designed, and Canada, where its Pratt & Whitney engines were designed.
Precision Air was established in 1993. It started as a private charter air Transport Company operating a five-seater Piper Aztec aircraft.
Its initial line of business mainly entailed providing connections to tourists visiting the rich natural attractions of Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, in northern Tanzania, Zanzibar Island in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the country from Arusha town as its base.
Meanwhile, authorities in Kagera Region have submitted a proposal to the Minister for Works and Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa, for the construction of the long-awaited Omukajunguti Airport to serve as an alternative of Bukoba Airport.
Kagera Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Albert Chalamila told reporters over the weekend that the Bukoba Airport was too close to residential areas, and thus a need for an alternative airport, which is safer for aircrafts operations.
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"We have already submitted a proposal to the Minister for Works and Transport for the construction of the new airport.
During his recent tour in Kagera Region, Prof Mbarawa assured Kagera residents and all Tanzanians that the government was keen to utilise the project involving construction of a modern airport at Omukajunguti area, in Missenyi District.
He said plans were being made by the government to possess land at Omukajunguti area and later hand it to the Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) for the intended airport project.
"Construction of the envisaged modern airport would cater for even larger airplanes," Prof Mbarawa said.
Briefing the minister then, Bukoba Airport Manager, Ms Cecilia Kamwela, said Bukoba Airport handles about 110 passengers on a daily basis.
She appealed to the government to equip the Bukoba Airport runway with reliable electricity that would enable them to operate with ease during the night.
