In a move that has potential implications for airline safety across Africa, the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has directed dozens of pilots, cabin crew and air traffic controllers to undergo new medical examinations after they were issued with allegedly fraudulent certificates declaring them fit to fly.
At the centre of the scandal is SAA’s chief medical officer, Nonhlanhla Sishaba, who allegedly failed to submit crucial test results to the SACAA in support of the medical certificates she issued, and then continued to grant medical certificates after her authority to do so was revoked. Sishaba did eventually provide the SACAA with the outstanding test results, which contained so many anomalies the authority launched an investigation, said its spokesperson, Phindiwe Gwebu.
“Our contention is she cleared people who didn’t qualify to be cleared. In one example, the ECG test results revealed a severe heart problem, but a medical certificate was issued,” she said. “Not all the [medical certificates] were necessarily wrong. But there were enough [discrepancies] to interrogate all her medical certificates.”
The SACAA has authorised 83 doctors to conduct the health assessments required to issue medical certificates for licensing pilots, flight engineers, cabin crew and air traffic controllers. Pilots from many other African states obtain their licences in SA, supported by locally awarded medical certificates, said Gwebu.
The SACAA’s ongoing investigation has so far identified 103 people who received allegedly fraudulent certificates from Sishaba. It is not clear at this stage if any of them were aware that they received bogus documents. All the people who were provided with certificates accompanied by anomalous test results have been informed and given 15 working days to present themselves to another SACAA-approved doctor for a new medical examination, said Gwebu. Anyone with a medical certificate issued by Sishaba after March 31 also has to submit to a fresh medical examination.
“We are dealing with matters of life and death. It is important to stop the rot,” she said.
SA’s aviation industry had an exemplary safety record, with no fatal accidents in the scheduled airline sector in nearly 40 years, said SACAA director of civil aviation Poppy Khoza.
“While our investigations are continuing, we cannot ignore these findings. Ensuring the safety of aviation services is our top priority and we will pursue all available legal measures to resolve this issue swiftly,” she said.
Business Day’s attempts to reach Sishaba were unsuccessful. She had not responded to a call, WhatsApp message or SMS at the time of publication.
SAA said Sishaba had been placed on precautionary suspension, pending the outcome of investigations by the airline and the SACAA.
“SAA’s most precious asset is its impeccable safety record. In our industry, the maintenance of the highest culture of safety is non-negotiable, and at SAA we have a zero tolerance of any violation of aviation safety regulations in our working environment,” said interim CEO John Lamola.
SAA said there had been no effect on its operations.
“After a thorough assessment of SAA personnel who were examined and issued with medical fitness certificates by Dr Sishaba, it has been established that only two cabin crew members and one pilot have been negatively impacted by [her] alleged improper and fraudulent behaviour. They will be medically recertified by the end of September, as directed by both SAA internal processes and the civil aviation authority,” it said in a statement.
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