Repair work make aircraft 'time bombs'
Date: 17 March 2006
The following is a (very) rough translation from an Afrikaans article that appeared in Die Burger:
It is cause for concern that airforce technicians are required to make repairs to aircraft for which they are not qualified. This means that not only may the technicians be held responsible if an aircraft should crash, but they could also threaten peoples lives.
This is how Adv. Pikkie Greeff of the SA National Defence Force Union (SANDFU) reacted yesterday to charges by union members. According to Greeff, the charges arise from a serious shortage of aircraft technicians in the airforce - which makes them believe that it is necessary to perform repair work on aircraft types for they do not have competency certificates.
Normally, a technician must have a certificate before he can sign of the repair work as adequate. According to Greeff, the technicians are worried about their legal rights should an accident take place and incorrect repair work is found to be the cause. They are also worried that the crew or passengers could institute a civil claim against the technician who performed the repair work.
According to Greeff, the technicians are being placed under pressure by their superiors to perform the work against their will and they believe that they could lose their technical allowance should they refuse. The allowance is approximately R1 500 to R1 800 per month.
One of the statements to the SANDFU stated that ''there have been no incidents as a result of this problem. It is just a question of time. It is a time bomb.''
Greeff said that attempts to discuss the matter with the supervisors has not resulted in any resolution.
The shortage of technicians, which is about 50% understaffed, is being made worse by the resignation of the more experienced personnel and they are being replaced by people with less experience.
According to Greeff, the situation is having a negative impact on the integrity of the airforce management because the practise is allowed to continue. ''It is not just the lives of airforce personnel ín the balance. What will happen if an aircraft falls into a residential area?'' asked Greeff.
