I keep reading about these accidents in Namibia and cant help but wonder what the problems are. There is obviously some underlying factors that are causing these crashes, as they are a frequent occurance. You just need to look across the border to Botswana and see that its a different story their.
The number of flight movements from Maun are probably at least equal to or greater than those in Namibia collectivley. They operate the same types of aircraft (206s,210s), employ the same demographic of pilots (Safas, Poms, Kiwis, OZys) and do similar types of flying (bush/scenic). YET the accident rate in Botswana seems to be far less than the neighbouring brother Namibia..... I dont have actual numbers, but it certainly appears that over the last 5-6 years there have been very few accidents in Botswana compared to Namibia.
There is obviously several factors which could be responsible for these accidents...........
1. Maintanence is not up to the same standards?
2. Pilot training or experience levels differ?
3. Company operating procedures are not satisfactory?
Im not saying Botswana is perfect, but I personally remember arriving from NZ to fly in Maun and being impressed with the level of training and maintanence. Maybe Namibia should take a leaf out of their book.......
