media release 9 – accident airlink flight update #8 - 29/09/09
MEDIA RELEASE
Airlink 8911 - Update 8 - Pilot Recruitment and Training
29 September 2009
This is the latest update following last Thursday’s accident involving Airlink flight SA8911 at Durban.
In this update, we provide some information on our pilot recruitment and training programmes.
Pilot Recruitment:
Airlink hires only professionally qualified pilots who hold Pilots Licences that have been validated or issued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
The airline applies a rigorous pilot selection procedure, which exceeds the minimum legal requirement. This includes a full psychometric evaluation of applicants using the same standards as those applied by South African Airways and other major carriers. It also extends to full medical, criminal, proficiency and experience background checks. The pilots who were operating flight 8911 were no exception.
Training:
Airlink’s pilot training policy is designed to ensure that its pilots maintain the highest standards of professional airmanship and flying skills. To achieve this, the airline applies a standard that is higher than the legislated baseline.
Airlink pilots undergo a series of regular and stringent training courses designed to test their proficiency and skills in a variety of normal, unusual and emergency situations. They also undergo regular check-flights where instructors assess their procedural and operational proficiency.
Pilots selected to fly the Jetstream J41 currently receive simulator training at Humberside in the United Kingdom. Training is to the standards prescribed by the aircraft manufacturer, BAE Systems. Airlink enhances this with additional operational-specific modules. Airlink has also raised the minimum number of recommended flight simulator training sessions to 48 hours.
The Accident Investigation:
The wreckage has been moved from the accident site to a secure location and placed in quarantine where it is being examined in detail by the SA CAA’s accident investigators. The Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder “black boxes” have been retrieved and will be flown to London overnight where they will be analysed by the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau under SA CAA supervision.
Although it appears that the aircraft engines may have been a causal factor in the accident, the investigators need to be given the space and time to conduct a thorough probe. Airlink is supporting the investigation, which will consider numerous factors – including pilot background - conditions, scenarios and combinations of them, in order to reach an informed and accurate conclusion.
The Jetstream 41 aircraft is a 29-seat twin-engined turbo-prop airliner, built in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. BAE Systems has produced 483 Jetstream aircraft, including 100 J41s, which were a slightly longer version of the J31.
Airlink’s fleet of 15 J41 aircraft have logged approximately 405,000 flight hours and have carried about 6,8 million passengers since first entering service with the airline in 1995.
Medical costs and Repairs to property
Airlink is providing medical and welfare care to the crew and municipal worker who were injured in Thursday’s accident.
Airlink has contracted a local builder who has begun repairing the damaged concrete school wall at the accident site.
Issued by Airlink
Media contact:
Karin Murray, Airlink
Tel: 011 961 1749
karinmurray@flyairlink.com