Crew absolved following release of SA Airlink accident report

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) has released its final report on the SA Airlink accident in December 2009 at George Airport and concluded that it was not possible for the crew to bring the aircraft to a safe stop due to the wet runway surface. The incident happened when an Embraer 135-LR aircraft overran the runway, burst through a perimeter fence and ended up on a public road. The final report confirms the findings of the previous interim report in which the surface of the runway was also blamed. The Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) has said it will comment once the report has been studied. A spokesperson for the Sacaa confirmed that the final report released last Monday (August 27) replaced the interim report published earlier. The aviation authority confirmed that George Airport currently "meets all requirements as per international standards" but said it did not wish to comment on questions raised by the report, as Sacaa has been subpoenaed and was expected to be called to testify in court. The reports by Air Traffic Control (ATC) showed there was nothing untoward about the aircraft's touchdown and no communication from the crew to indicate problems. The Sacaa report again refers to the likelihood of the fog spray sealant contributing to the accident. The sealant was used during rehabilitation of the runway in November and the accident occurred in early December – the first rainy spell after its application. The investigative team said it was concerned with the regulatory oversight of the airport, as the Civil Aviation Authority had conducted an operator licence renewal audit during which no noncompliance at the airport was found. The runway resurfacing was still in progress at the time, but the fog spray sealant being used for the runway surfacing did raise a concern at the time. The report continues: "The fact that no non-compliance was found could be attributed to the fact that the audit team reacted purely on the data required from their checklist. “The investigation team found the checklist to be lacking critical content, especially with reference to the rehabilitation process of a runway." CAPTION: The SA Airlink Embraer photographed exactly a year after the accident at George Airport.