CAAV promises fair Investigation in Air Taxi crash
October 2, 2024 10:40 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Adorina Massing.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV) will not assign blame to anyone until the formalities of the pending investigation conducted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Air Taxi are complete.
CAAV has responded to comments made by the Air Taxi Chief Executive Officer (CEO) regarding the preliminary report on the crash of the Air Taxi Britten-Norman Islander BN2A-20, YJ-AT2, which occurred on July 15th this year.
In a statement on an article published on September 21, Air Taxi CEO Simon Turner acknowledged that, as the operator, he accepts ultimate responsibility for the accident. However, he clarified that the pilot operated well outside Air Taxi’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and made numerous errors that resulted in the aircraft running out of fuel.
In their response, CAAV said they will not blame anyone at this stage but will investigate why, after thousands of hours of experience, the accident occurred.
“We are concerned about the pilot’s actions that day, which led to the fuel starvation. CAAV is also concerned about the pilot’s mental state that caused him to operate in such a manner,” the Authority said.
“At the end of the day, the Pilot in Command is ultimately responsible.
“However, it is our duty to work on enforcing best practices for safety in aviation services in Vanuatu.”
“With his experience, he has undergone numerous regulatory safety handling checks.”
CAAV would also like to identify areas where they can improve regulatory checks.
“Air Taxi Operations were grounded immediately by the Director after the accident, as it is CAAV’s duty to determine the root causes of the incident,” the Authority stated.
“CAAV cannot rule out Air Taxi from Vanuatu. They have operated here for a long time, and the travelling public depends on them.
“However, we bear in mind that they have experienced three accidents in less than a year.
“While we want their services to continue for the public, we also want to see them operate safely. Safety is paramount.
“For an aviation company to function safely, rules must be followed by every team member within the company; therefore, there should be no undue pressure on anyone.
“Everyone must operate within the prescribed rules, procedures, and approved best practices.
“The accident report by ATSB will also aid in enhancing safety across the entire aviation industry in Vanuatu, including CAAV, as we seek to improve our regulatory and safety oversight.”
Air Taxi has declined to comment following this recent response from CAAV.
The CAAV investigation is conducted independently from other entities and focuses on preventing aircraft accidents and incidents, not on assigning blame or liability.
Furthermore, CAAV encourages pilots to refresh their knowledge of fuel planning and management and urges operators to review their procedures for fuel planning and in-flight fuel management.
