GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - With known mechanical defects that raised the eyebrows of the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) three-member flight crew who died last year aboard the Cessna S550 Citation SII plane crash near Great Brak River, it has emerged the aircraft should have been replaced two years before the fatal incident.

Captain Thabiso Tolo, 49, first officer Tebogo Lekalakala, 33, and flight inspector Gugu Mnguni, 36, died in the crash on 23 January last year.

According to minutes of the Sacaa audit and risk committee meetings, seen by The Citizen, the plane used by the crew for the calibration of the country’s airports should have been replaced as far back as 2018.

In terms of the minutes:

The Sacaa board, which met on 25 August, 2015, approved the flight inspection unit’s (FIU) strategy to trade the Cessna S550 for a second-hand aircraft and use the current equipment, buying a second plane upon an increase in business.
On 19 March, 2018 the Sacaa received a letter from the minister of transport granting approval to borrow funds in the amount equivalent to $8 million to acquire an aircraft in terms of Section 66(3)(c) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

Read the full article on the Caxton publication, The Citizen