NCAA: Westair operations at par

May 10, 2024 Vaseline stjohnson 0

Rudolf Gaiseb

Following last week’s plane crash in Windhoek, Namibia’s aviation industry has come under serious scrutiny, particularly the oversight role played by the Namibian Civil Aviation Authority.

At the center of the uproar are questions regarding the modus operandi of Westair Aviation, whose three members died in a fatal plane crash.

Yesterday another aerial incident occurred with a gyrocopter at Eros airport. The pilot, who was the only person on board, was unharmed.

However, responding to questions this week, Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) chief executive Toska Sem maintained that Westair’s operations were beyond reproach.

“Let me assure you that Westair Aviation is fully certified in terms of the Namibian Civil Aviation Regulations and is audited regularly. All Westair crew are licensed under the Namibia Civil Aviation Regulations and complete all periodic competency checks required by those regulations,” he said.

Questions also focused on the licensing and importation of various aircraft, particularly the Cessna aircraft, as well as Westair Aviation’s pilot licensing and evaluation procedures, and whether the NCAA’s checks and balances were hermetic

Sem said Cessna aircraft are not only imported from the United States of America, but also from any member state of the International Civil Aviation Organization, from where any Namibian national or private entity would like to import them.

“Regulatory requirements, therefore, require a technical no objection (NTO) letter issued by the CEO. After that, the State of Namibia is in a position to carry out safety supervision of the aircraft type. Secondly, a certificate of airworthiness for export issued by the state registry with information on the airworthiness status of the aircraft and compliance with the aircraft type certificate,” Sem explained.

He continued: “Third, a deregistration certificate issued by the state of registration as proof that the aircraft has been removed from the national aircraft registry of the previous state.”

He reiterated: “Finally, we wish to draw your attention to the complete Cessna 210N Centurion V5-LMK report available online at the Directorate of Air Accident and Incident Investigations (DAAII). It is essential to note that correlation of technical failures related to an aviation accident can only be done if it is determined that the same type of aircraft had a common failure under similar prevailing conditions.”

Westair responds

According to Westair, the airworthiness of the Cessna 406 involved in the fatal accident will be determined after investigations.

Westair spokeswoman Elzanne McCulloch said New era that “Westair cannot comment on the aircraft itself until the air crash investigations are concluded.”

Meanwhile, DAAII director Magnus Abraham said the Cessna 406 was manufactured in the United States and the engine in Canada.

“I assure the nation that we will get to the bottom of this. We will get to what the real cause was. And as we say, an event like this is not caused by a single cause. It is a sequence of events that must have happened. But we have already narrowed it down to certain things; We have some images from the cameras. The Cessna is a good airplane, a well-known airplane that flies all over the world. Namibia is no exception. We have already confiscated all documents from the operator. We are also receiving the others from the regulator, which has all the serial numbers that we need to study,” Abraham said.

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