Bukoba Airport meets international standards-TCAA

TANZANIA Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) said on Wedenesday that Precision Air (PW) has a clean bill of health, while saying Bukoba Airport (BKZ) meets all international standards for its category.

The TCAA Director General, Mr Hamza Johari told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday that the PW’s plane ATR 42-500 which crashed at Lake Victoria after a failed landing attempt on Sunday, killing 19 people had a standard airworthiness certificate when it entered the country and while operating.

“Let us shun away from speculations and spreading unverified information, which is causing panic to the members of the public,” Mr Johari said as he sent his condolences to the affected individuals.

The TCAA clarification came in response to what the authority termed as propagated information which is being pumped on social media regarding the airworthiness of PW and the Bukoba Airport.

Mr Johari said Bukoba Airport started to receive airlines 82 years ago and it met international standards. He said the facility tarmacked runway has a length of 1500metres and it measures 30 metres wide.

He said ATR 42 needs some 1165 metres long runway to take off and only some 964 metres for landing.

“Please be patient and wait for the final investigation report from the probe team which will establish the real cause of the accident,” Mr Johari urged members of the public, while thanking the fire brigade and ‘wananchi’ for hurriedly carrying out the rescue mission.

TCAA said Bukoba Airport, in aviation, is a non-towered airport. It is without a control tower or air traffic control (ATC) unit and lies inside controlled airspace of Mwanza Airport. Only 14 airports in the country have control towers that are serving those without towers and are divided into zones.

Also, the TCAA Chief said other PW aircraft are safe since they have airworthiness certificates

Last Sunday, flight PW494 operated with ATR 42-500 from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba crashed into Lake Victoria, killing 19 passengers, while 26 others cheated death. Among the dead included both pilots.

The flight captain Burhan Rubaga (64), was the airline Chief Pilot with 23,151 hours under his belt.

The PW started flying to Bukoba in 1992, according to the TCAA boss, using a seven-seater Cessna 404.

Mr Johari described the late captain Rubaga as not only an experienced aeronaut but a mentor to many junior aviators. He said he was the oldest and senior captain flying Precision Air ATR 42 since its inception in the country.

“Captain Rubaga was among the first top airmen who started to fly the French-made ATR-42 since they were procured for the first time in 2008 until his death,” Mr Johari said.

The investigation team is led by the assistant director of aircraft accident in the Ministry of Works and Transport and has already started its job to establish the cause, and the initial result will be out in 14 days while the final report will be out in three to 12 months per legal requirement.

The probe team includes experts from France, who manufactured the plane and others from the US who made the ATR-42 engines

This is the second major fatal aircraft accident in the country, after the then East African Airways crashed at Mountain Kilimanjaro, killing all 20 people on board in 1975.

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