‘Dangerous goods remain weak underbelly of aviation safety’

How does South Africa rate in the safety of airfreighting hazardous cargoes? Not too well in certain areas of the SA airfreight community, according to Bob Garbett, MD of Professional Risk and Asset Management, and an expert on aviation safety regulations. “The weak underbelly of aviation safety remains the ugly sister of cargo – dangerous goods,” he told FTW. “It is astounding, and not a little frightening, that many sections of the aviation industry are woefully unaware of who requires dangerous goods training and what level of training is required. “We all should know that, put simply, dangerous goods are cargo which must be packed correctly, declared correctly and kept within the minimum quantities allowed on each aircraft.” If not, he added, it posed a danger more likely to occur than a terrorist bomb being put on a plane. His comments followed the problem of dangerous goods once again hitting the international headlines, as US aviation authorities pushed for a big fine for express air carrier, FedEx, for contravening the regulations. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wanted FedEx fined US$689 800 for allegedly not telling pilots they were carrying hazardous cargo in 2009 – a very serious omission for a major company in the aviation field. The FAA had sent FedEx enforcement letters detailing the allegations, and the company had 30 days to respond, reports Newark’s Journal of Commerce. The government body said it found the alleged violations during a dangerous goods inspection at a FedEx express cargo handling facility at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut in 2009. The agency alleged that, in 89 instances from June to September that year, FedEx “failed to provide pilots-incommand with complete, accurate information on the nature, quantity and weight of hazardous materials loaded on their aircraft”. Is such an event likely to happen in SA? Not likely at airline level, according to Chris Zweigenthal, CEO of the Airlines Association of SA. “Air cargo security is very carefully covered in this country’s Part 108 security legislation,” he said. “It lays down very specific guidelines, and the International Air Transport Association (Iata) procedures are also very clear.” The airlines, he added, are very aware of these rules and regulations. Garbett agreed but pointed out that the various people involved in the dangerous goods supply chain up to the aircraft being loaded/unloaded must be equally alert. “The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Iata dangerous goods manuals are masterpieces of careful, detailed and thorough planning and consideration of all aspects of this very difficult element of the carriage of air cargo,” he said. “Regulatory agencies, such as the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), take transgressions of the dangerous goods regulations extremely seriously. It is obligatory, by law, to report every infringement.” To put it simply, Garbett added, everybody, whether they handle dangerous goods or not, requires training of one form or another. Operators, airports, handling agents (ground and ramp) must employ a designated dangerous goods official trained to category 6. Forwarding agents, meantime, require an official trained to category 3, 4 or 5 (depending on what level of dangerous goods handling they are involved in). Dangerous goods must be declared, using the standard dangerous goods shipper’s declaration, and must be reported separately to the pilot in command of the aircraft carrying them.