Proflight Zambia

[mrjamesgroves]

Could somebody please give me an idea about the safety record of Proflight in Zambia? As a commuter, this company appears too small to appear on comparitives such as planecrashinfo.com. Having searched the forums on this, all I managed to find was a story about the CEO being arresting by the Drug Enforcement Commision in Dec2005 (!), and some cautionary tales about operating light aircraft at heavy weights from small strips.

[Carrier]

Take a look at Jockflyer’s comments in his post on 28 February 2003 in this thread: www.pprune.org/african-aviation/74508-proflite-c206-went-down-zambia.html There must have been valid reasons for a former employee to offer such advice and indicate that there might be “certain issues” there!
Too many low time pilots have been killed in Africa. Take care!

[Mukosha]

Proflight Zambia is a good company, which is run by good, dedicated people. They have an excellent maintenance facility and opperate proffesionally. Many companies in Zambia have come and gone, yet this one continues and is growing from strength to strength.

They have some problems in the past, but back then they were just a small operator. In recent years they have gone through a big restructuring programm and have brought in new investors.

There are always pilots who are happy to run down a company; I know a few who have a personal grudge with the company, but then I also know about the cloud under which they left.

[Danny1987]

Zambia is by far the worst country i have ever been to! The people are very racist and do not remember nor appreciate what the british (white) colonists did there! I have never felt so unwelcome in another country. The people are uneducated and very arrogant. Do your self a favour and dont visit that pathetic country!

[Gooneybird]

Zambia is by far the worst country i have ever been to!
You need to travel more. Zambia is paradise compared with what lies north of it's border.
The people are very racist and do not remember nor appreciate what the british (white) colonists did there!
Which was? I'm British myself by the way, and whilst I'm proud of my own country I really don't know the specifics of what we did for Zambia (northern Rhodesia).

[Flying Bean]

I have been an Operator in Zambia since 1984 and echo Mukosha sentiments.
Since then Zambia aviation industry has undergone an amazing development and transformation and compares very favourably with most other Northern Areas. Proflite has gone through some difficult times but has kept its head and developed slowly but surely.:ok:

Danny 1987. Amazing post!! Your age, I think, says it all. Go north young man and talk to us again in 5 years.:ugh:

[wheel barrow]

danny 1987, you're obviously an ignorant, uneducated, simple minded racist prick!!
Oh... and culturally impotent!!!

[1300]

oh danny 1987 please you have know idea what you talking about ! i have done contract flying for a couple of years and zambia was the best i have been on ! go give west africa a try my friend and think carefully before posting another comment like that ! !

[erik07]

danny,

you are entitled to your opinion and I respect your views despite not being able to disagree more with them. I spent 6 years in Zambia between 1999 and 2005, and they were the best years of my life. it's a beautiful country with beautiful people, and currently there's not even too much to complain about the nation's governance! to me, Zambia's always been a hidden treasure, that often went unseen by tourists who were always in a rush to see the country's well-marketed neighbors (Zim, Bots, Nam, etc). the national parks are absolutely stunning, and I have rarely seen a more friendly and kind-hearted mentality among the local population -- even towards westerners. yes, occasionally you will see some form of racism, but name one country in the world where such an ignorant minority does not exist!

I personally believe Zambia would be a fantastic place to fly in -- given the chance I'd move there in a heartbeat. international investment has been flourishing over the last couple of years, especially in Livingstone which seems to have become the new hub to the Vic Falls seeing as many tourists seem to feel uncomfortable flying into zim these days.

i cannot comment much on proflight unfortunately, but i did want to share my views on the country. Danny, I do hope you get a chance to visit Zambia again sometime soon and hopefully your view of the nation and its people will change -- and this is not coming from some patronising old man (some people always seem to think it's the AGE of posters that leads them to offensive statements??!)...i'm barely older than yourself!

much luck mrjamesgroves!

erik

[flareman]

Oh Danny boy!
Zambia is a fantastic place, the people were very welcoming to me and only I got gentle teasing about not learning the local language.
I worked in Zambia for two years 2006-2008, I was based at Lusaka Intl and got to know Proflight, seemed to be a well run, professional outfit, If you had the chance to fly for them it would be a good opportunity.

[GUSTO]

Danny ,

I lived in Zambia and in 6 others countries in the past 12 years and Zambians are Very nice as well as their beautiful country . Go and try Gabon or Equatorial Guinea you will come back to Zambia with a smile .

[Pace152]

Danny I'm shocked, you must have been really unlucky with your experience in Zambia, I'm flying here from Lusaka International and the experience I've had of the people is that they are amazingly friendly (especially considering the poverty some of them live in).

The only other places I've been to in Africa is Namibia and SA so I cant really compare Zambia to many other African countries but the people are deffinetly the friendliest of the 3 places I've been to.

[Csanad007]

what is the proflight fleet? do they have SEP, like C210 or C206?
What other companies would you guys recomend?
I'm in the planning stage of the African jobhunt.

THX

[GUSTO]

Well guys if you want more info try : Proflight Schedule and Charter Flights in Zambia (http://www.proflight-zambia.com)

The main person in charge of recuitment is Tony Irwin . His first choice of pilot is Zambian nationals for 2 reasons : 1) they usually stay longer and 2) they do not need a work permit , then he will try to take experienced expats (time on Jetstream aircraft and /or as bush pilot ) , the last guys that he will take are expats with no experience and there is few chance at present .

Good luck and if you go there enjoy this beautiful country with very nice people .

[The Wraith]

Danny Boy,
You must have had a very unpleasant time in Zambia. I imagine that it was less to do with the local people than your childish and immature sentiment and behaviour. Trust me, I have flown in Zambia as well as many other countries in Africa and you will be hard pressed to find a more friendly and welcoming group of people than indigenous Zambians. They endure the most grinding levels of poverty and deprivation and yet always have a smile and will always help a fellow human being of any race. The country itself is beautiful almost beyond compare and flying around it is a priviledge. I hate to admit that I took it for granted but, now, having moved on to "bigger and better things" I miss it all desperately. There is a special cameraderie, even amongst technically competing companies and individuals, as evidenced above with FlyingBeans' comments about Proflight, a company that competed with his. When an aircraft went missing, as did on occasion, all the pilots and operators of ALL companies donated time and aircraft to search and rescue. Ask the likes of Adam Pope who is alive today because of that very quality that exudes from the people there. It was a very good friend of mine who actually spotted their wreckage and a very skilled South African helicopter pilot who pulled them out.
As for the safety record of Proflight, well, they have had problems in the past but if you are fair you will see that most of the longer established operators in Zambia have had issues. It is a tough environment to operate in, not just with poor navaids and strips, occasionally difficult weather etc but with availability of spares and acquisition of suitable pilots and work permits etc, etc. But these companies have strived to succeed and not quit when the going got tough or run away because they couldn't run their operations out of a briefcase but had to build hangars and lay down cold hard investment. The likes of Proflight and Staravia and Avocet are good companies that should be around for a very long time to come. They are run by experienced people who, unlike many parts of Africa, believe in fair play and decency. Frankly it was a pleasure to fly for them all and I would do so again in a heartbeat. Considering the size of the aviation community in Zambia I would suggest that they have a better safety record than many more developed countries.
Anyway, all personal opinion I admit, but I would say that Zambia really is a hidden gem that is only recently beginning to emerge fully, and I think, Danny boy that hopefully with age will come at least some wisdom, and maybe after working in various other parts of the world you will come to revisit and revise your illspoken opinions of Zambia and her people.
Right, now I'm getting down off my box and going to go study for a linecheck in an aircraft that unfortunately I couldn't get into Jeki airstrip...
:ok::ok::ok::ok:

[Danny1987]

Well what can i say? I seem to have provoked quite a reaction! I assume most of the replies have came from europeans/americans who seem to have a higher tolerancy threshold for such natives. My grandad was the head civil engineer for the construction of the victoria falls bridge. My father is born in Zambia, I along with my father have dealt with the polictics of the country. And thats where my opinion comes from. I do agree with the statement that the villagers are amongst the friendlst people in the world. But the authority figures do not come with open arms. For eg. The other week i flew to the country and had to pay 4000 rand (2 million kwatcha) to enter the country for a three day trip! Now that to we feels very unwelcoming! And after all this is a forum which i am displaying my opinion.

[Pace152]

Well why didnt you say that in the first place:rolleyes:

I agree with you on the point that the authorities seem to think that foreigners (and white foreigners especially) have lots of money that they've got nothing better to do with than to give it to a local in uniform.

However that problem isn't purely a Zambian thing, or even all that big in Zambia, they're just profiling. i.e the customs people are more likely to search someone in full terrorist garb than a little old lady. It is wrong but it goes on around the world.

At least corruption in Zambia isn't really tolerated.

[yambat]

The Wraith

Nice post, enjoyed what you had to say, years ago I operated a Chieftain on the licence of Staravia, had some good times flying for the Groves as well as the odd trip for Proflite. Stuck now in West Africa on a beautiful old aeroplane, just not enough flying, much sitting under the cocnut palms, fond memories of Zams though. Also flown in most African countries and agree with your Zambian sentiments.
Enjoy the line check, at least I have much time to prep for sim!
Yambat