Serious threat to South African aviation industry with 1,400 aircraft grounded

A sudden policy shift by South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority has essentially grounded over 1,400 light aircraft, including small aeroplanes and helicopters.

The problem relates to the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) decision to enforce a rigid 12-year engine overhaul rule.

The issue made headlines two years ago when the CAA wanted to force any aircraft with an engine older than 12 years to be overhauled before it could be placed back in service.

The Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) 18.19 provided an exemption and an alternate method of compliance through an inspection to ensure safe, continued airworthiness.

In 2023, the CAA withdrew AIC 18.19 without consultation, causing havoc among flight schools, aircraft owners, students, and commercial operators.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the CAA’s mishandling of the situation caused significant losses, and businesses faced circumstances that could lead to their liquidation.

The issue has since died down. However, a new development meant that a large group of fixed-wing aeroplanes and helicopters in South Africa had been grounded overnight.

It includes aeroplanes and helicopters with Textron-Lycoming and Teledyne Continental engines, and possibly Pratt & Whitney and Rotax engines, that have not been overhauled in the past 12 years.

The group sounding the alarm includes the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA), the Aeroclub of South Africa, and the Aviation Watch Action Committee.

It also includes the Aviation Action Group and concerned aircraft owners, pilots, engineers and operators.

The group said an insurance underwriter estimates up to 70% of the ageing fleet of fixed-wing aeroplanes and helicopters in South Africa could be affected.

They added that the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s latest move to rescind an Air Information Circular created chaos in the aviation industry.

It follows successive general exemptions and unsuccessful deliberations over the past two years to oppose the new regulation.

They said the sudden intervention means that an entire sector of the aviation industry could subsequently grind to a halt.

The knock-on effects in the value chain could harm food security, conservation, safety, and tourism, as well as private business enterprises, amounting to billions of rand.

Severe impact on South Africa’s aviation industry

The group said scores of owners and operators may not yet be aware that they might be flying with effectively ‘un-airworthy’ aircraft, illegally, and without any insurance cover.

Few aircraft owners, especially those operating under Part 91 operations, can afford to overhaul their aircraft engines prematurely and are highly likely to stop flying altogether.

Many operators may subsequently have to dismiss staff and close their doors, as the costs of a premature major overhaul could vary between R1 million and R2.5 million.

Owners and pilots operating under Part 92 operations for leisurely activities, including ultra- and microlight aircraft or gyroplanes, are currently not affected.

Most private owners and pilots operating in the Part 91 category of operations use their aircraft for private business and to gain access to clients across the SADC region.

It said no empirical evidence exists to indicate that safety is being compromised, which would compel owners to carry out overhauls based on years instead of the number of hours flown.

The original rationale for factories to recommend overhauling engines every 12-years was based on passive storage and inactive engines.

The rescinded AIC was aimed at mitigating any potential harmful effects. No empirical evidence was ever presented to warrant the rescinding.

Kevin Storie, CEO of the Commercial Aviation Association of South Africa, told Biznews that well above 1,400 aircraft are affected.

He explained that the CAA decided not to issue a certificate of airworthiness to these aircraft, forcing owners to self-ground them.

He said engine overhauls can cost well above R2 million and that spare parts are scarce and subject to prohibitive US tariffs, making compliance practically impossible.

The impact is devastating to training schools, which rely on twin-engine planes, while tourism, which uses small aircraft to move high-end clients across the region, faces severe disruption.

He said the new directive decimates a decades-old ecosystem of aviation expertise and economic activity.

Storie warned that the entire value chain is at risk, including the aviation maintenance organisations (AMOs), spare parts suppliers, and training academies.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority insists that its implementation of the rule ensures that flying is safer.

However, Storie disagrees. “This isn’t about safety. It’s about control and a failure to understand the consequences of that control,” he said.