Airline safety warning for South Africa

Aviation expert and owner of SA Flyer Guy Leitch warned that South Africa is getting closer and closer to a fatal air crash, with the required aviation systems rapidly decreasing.

Airplane safety has come into the news again in recent weeks following the tragic Potomac crash in Washington, United States.

Last month, an American Airlines flight departed the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the US capital but collided with a military black hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

The collision just off the airport’s runway led to all 67 people on both aircraft dying in the crash, marking the first major US commercial passenger crash in over 15 years.

Although the causes of the crash are still under investigation, early indicators point to a staff shortage in air traffic control services.

Despite South Africa’s renowned aviation safety, there are fears that a similar crash is not far away. Leitch said the root cause lies with three state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

These are the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS), the South African Weather Service (SAWS) and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA).

Writing on Currency, Leitch said that the SOEs are essential for airline safety, but the challenges facing all three severely impact safety.

The worst culprit is the ATNS, which is responsible for air traffic control services in the country. The SOE has failed to survey 327 of its procedures, which have been suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The procedures were intended to make it safer for airlines to operate in poor weather conditions, but the withdrawal of these procedures makes travel by aeroplane more dangerous.

Leitch told BusinessTech that South Africa has never had a jet airliner crash on its soil, and the chances of a major crash are still incredibly remote as flying is still amazingly safe.

However, all the systems have to be in place to keep it safe, and this is no longer the case, meaning that the chances of a fatal airliner crash are “rapidly increasing.”

Creecy’s problem

Leitch also remained unconvinced that the latest recommendations from a panel of aviation experts established by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy will result in significant changes at the ATNS.

The Minister established the committee in December 2024 to identify the issues facing the ATNS, which were causing delays across the nation’s airlines.

The committee highlighted the following problems during its investigation:

• Critical staffing shortages, particularly Air Traffic Service.
• Communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) systems are not as reliable as they should be.
• Flight procedures were suspended as a result of not being maintained.

It then provided a host of solutions to the problems facing the organisation. They are also working with the ATNS board for the first half of the year.

A key priority is for the ATNS to accelerate the recruitment of critical staff, including air traffic service staff. The process is expected to take between 18 months and three years to be fully implemented.

It said that there has to be an urgent need to upgrade CNS systems, and further steps need to be taken to ensure the maintenance of instrument flight procedures.

The Department of Transport also said that governance processes will be prioritized to ensure single-point accountability to allow efficient implementation.

However, Leitch does not believe that the new committee will successfully tackle the issues at the ATNS.

Although the committee should have no trouble identifying the problems faced by the ATNS, it will not be able to carry out the executive functions required to rebuild lost skills in the ATNS.

He added that the ATNS would fail to get the procedures surveyed correctly, with the CAA reportedly rejecting many that were submitted.

However, it should be noted that the staff challenges facing the ATNS are a global problem. Leitch said that there is a chronic worldwide shortage of air traffic controllers.

Those who remain in South Africa are also being overworked, which is already seen as one of the most stressful jobs in the world. Leitch noted that this again has safety implications for local aviation.