JJFlyer - I'm surprised at you. The fact is, as
ChrisKSDF pointed out, this is far from the first incident that they have had. Nor is it the case that they have written off three aircraft over say a 40 year period - as would be the case with a quality operator such as British Airways. No - these cowboys have had three crashes (can't remember off hand how many were fatals, including this one) in
nine years!
Statistically, this makes them
one of the most dangerous airlines in the world.
(Chris, can you trawl your databases and see if you can come up with any other airline - of a comparable size - (a) which has had as many incidents in the last 10 years; and (b) has lost 25% of its fleet in the same timescale?)
This operation prompts more than a few questions, starting with:
- Nice people they may be, but
why are they not based in their home country of Zimbabwe?
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Why don't they have a proper operational set up in Ghana - and why isn't the management and control centred there rather than Sussex?
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Why isn't the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority providing proper operational and safety oversight? This incident should result in Ghana being downgraded to Category 2 unless prompt action is taken against MK.
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Why is the DTLR allowing them to operate from the UK (against CAA advice, I understand) to the detriment of other UK and EU carriers? If they want to be based here, fine. But let them apply for a CAA Air Operator's Certificate and Operators Licence and abide by the UK rules - same as the rest of us have to!
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why are they being allowed to flout UK immigration and employment laws by employing foreign nationals (to the detriment of EU citizens) in the UK without visas, work permits or EU passports?
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why is the company's senior management permitted overrule its crews when it comes to operational matters; including the carriage of fuel over cargo; operations in excess of runway, structural or other limits; extended duty times; and operations into airports in unsafe conditions? There's another thread on here, entitled "Management and Pilots SHould Read This". Towards the bottom of
this page you'll see a question posed by
Huck. MK's answer would be diametrically opposed to the one that I gave.
If this aircraft had come down in Margate or Crawley - especially considering that it ran out of fuel - this thread would have been close on its 100 post limit already. So why isn't there more condemnation of their operation? The chances are that next time - and if this company is allowed to continue operating in the UK there
will be a next time - that just might happen.
Despite what some might think, this is
not a case of European operators bashing an African one because they are more succesful. This is a
safety issue which affects us all - much as some of us think otherwise, these regulations are in place for a reason: to protect those operating the aircraft and those on the ground. It's about an operator that has effectively torn up the rule book because they are operating off a mickey mouse flag of convenience without any operational or safety oversight - which means that they cut every corner they can to save money to undercut European operators and put people like you out of work.
They were banned from operating to Iceland - which is why they had to set up a 'proper' structure there - if the Icelanders have the guts to take a stance on them, why don't the British?
If the DTLR lets them keep operating - how many more people are they going to kill? And will their next crash be in the centre of a UK town?
It's as simple as that.