While I certainly don't want to jump to any conclusions about the accident under discussion, there are a few important points that should be clearly understood, or expanded upon about modern (RNAV/GPS/GNSS) navigation methods that don't appear to be well-enough understood within the industry, and in particular, within the (very challenging) deep-dark African contract environment.
To be reasonable, I am obliged to admit not having operated under such conditions for some time, and as a pilot for a major airline, I am certainly not exposed to the highly variable conditions that contract pilots need to deal with on a daily basis.
That said, and as someone who has been heavily involved with the development and implementation of RNAV operations throughout the African continent, there are a few really important points, which I feel, should be made, and which may just help others to stay safe out there.
1. All South African registered operators require SA-CAA approval to conduct RNAV / GNSS operations. This approval is required for safety reasons, and any accident relating to the use of such nav' techniques would come under intense scrutiny by both the CAA and, of course, all related insurance companies. These will quite likely include the pilot’s life insurers.
CAA approval includes aircraft certification / technical compliance, pilot training, and organizational support issues.
2. The cockpit resource management aspects associated with such approaches are significantly different from the usual Radio-Nav operations which most of us were trained in, and warrant careful SOP development. Pilot situational awareness can very easily be lost during such operations, and this must be well catered for when planning, and training-for such a capability.
3. Electronic Navigation databases MUST be thoroughly checked for data integrity before being released for line use. Such checks are required over and above the basic quality checks, which are performed by the providers (EG: Jeppesen). The Nav databases change every 28 days, in accordance with the ARINC-424 cycle, and should be updated accordingly. This is often not done by operators in "far-off" places, and database integrity will certainly be compromised as a result of this reality. An out-of-date navigation database should not be used for IFR navigation... EVER.
Please forgive me if I sound like a smart-alek in this post, but the safety considerations surrounding RNAV operations are more involved than what many "smaller" (respectfully) operators realize. My advice to pilots operating in such an environment would be to avoid using this technology until the company has provided proper training, and the AOC is endorsed by the CAA for RNAV / GNSS operations.
Be careful... and don't allow yourselves or your colleagues to be lulled into an unsafe operation due to a lack of training or proper process. Your lives are worth more than that.
Safe flying folks!
Pitch&Fan.
Last edited by Pitch&Fan; 3rd Sep 2008 at 13:03.