Fears in Tanzania as ‘inept’ pilots man aircraft

DAR ES SALAAM, Sunday

Grave disaster looms in Tanzania’s skies, in the wake of revelations that the local airline industry is progressively employing unqualified pilots.

The air accident investigation unit of the ministry of Transport attributes three out of 12 aircraft accidents that occurred in 2011 to the ineptitude of inexperienced pilots.

The pilots, according to the ministry’s annual report, were allowed to venture into the skies despite several shortcomings, including blatant disregard to safety and operational guidelines.

The report, signed by the deputy chief inspector of air accidents, Mr J. Nyamwihura, says while 2011 was the safest in the aviation sector in the last five years, the rate of accidents involving unqualified personnel was alarming.

“Acts of unqualified pilots taking command of aircraft, some of this commercial, appears to be on the rise,” the report released over a week ago reads.

The report says the main reason for the “unqualified pilot accidents” is the growing shortage of pilots in the aviation industry.

“This shortage is worldwide but appears to be particularly acute in the country because the government has not trained pilots for two decades (20 years),” the reports noted.