How safe are small planes?

Friday’s crash raises concerns for some firms.

KARACHI: Friday’s unfortunate crash of a chartered plane that resulted in the death of all 21 people on board has once again refreshed safety concerns regarding air travel in the country. However, unlike the recent Airblue crash, this time engine failure has been blamed for the incident. This, of course, raises serious questions over the regulation of aircraft maintenance.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the aviation regulator, has the authority to issue licences to private plane companies. The CAA is also responsible for ensuring safety standards are met by all airplanes operated by such firms.

CAA officials say that at present there are more than 80 small airplanes in the country being operated by the private sector. These companies have their own crew, technical staff and engineers who maintain the aircraft.

“CAA, as the regulator, imposes checks and balances on these private firms but maintenance is primarily the responsibly of companies,” CAA spokesperson Pervaiz George told The Express Tribune. He said that CAA “never” compromises on safety standards.

Trouble for exploration and production companies

A number of domestic and multinational companies, mainly involved in exploration and production activities (oil, gas, coal and so on), frequently make use of chartered flights. The employees of these companies travel across the country not just between exploration sites but also major cities.

Major upstream oil exploration companies operating in Pakistan include British Petroleum (BP), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), MOL and Eni amongst others.

An official of a major multinational oil exploration firm currently active in the country said that although multinationals charter better quality aircraft in general, Friday’s crash raises concerns for employees who regularly travel in smaller planes. He explained oil companies typically follow two schedule patterns. Some employees work on a 14-day cycle (14 days of work followed by 14 days off), while some operate on a 28-day schedule.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2010.