The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Independence Day’s fatal Andros plane crash has reinforced “the urgency of breaking down the barriers and walls” in the aviation industry, a senior executive is urging, with the planned Bahamas Aviation Safety Committee very much “needed”.

Dr Anthony Hamilton, president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, told Tribune Business that while no details on the Committee’s membership, formal role and responsibilities were discussed at last week’s meeting between Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of energy, utilities and aviation, and industry stakeholders, it could improve “accountability” in the sector.

The meeting was held five days after the fatal accident that killed all ten persons on board, when a plane owned by Flamingo Air crashed in bush on its descent towards San Andros Airport, and Dr Hamilton praised the minister for “opening the door” to greater aviation stakeholder contributions into “charting the way forward” for the domestic Bahamian aviation industry.

Acknowledging that the tragedy is “something we are going to live with forever”, given that it occurred on Independence Day, he nevertheless told this newspaper that Mrs Coleby-Davis’s initial outreach has created “an atmosphere conducive for inclusion” within the industry.

Describing the Aviation Safety Committee proposal as “nothing new”, Dr Hamilton said: “We are still trying to bring accountability into the sector in a meaningful way. The new minister is fresh to the game, fresh to office, and takes over the work from a previous minister [Chester Cooper]. This is a first-time encounter. She has to chart her own course, but has provided an atmosphere conducive for inclusion and consultation.

“The way forward is being charted from these discussions that are taking place now, so we stand to benefit from excellent participation. At the end of the day, the accident has brought forward the urgency of breaking down barriers and walls that existed previously in the sector so that we have the strongest environment to work in and that will prove beneficial to all parties.”

Dr Hamilton said that, while Mrs Coleby-Davis has to make some decisions on the way forward for Bahamian aviation, last week’s meetings with airline operators and other industry stakeholders have “opened the door for them to make their contributions and agree the way forward”.

“A very positive, proactive and productive stance has been taken,” he added, “and stakeholders should be supportive in that regard. There were no details [on the Safety Committee] but that’s where we’re headed and we now have a chance to map that out before sharing it with the public at large”.

Also director of administration for Southern Air Charter, Dr Hamilton said bodies such as the proposed Aviation Safety Committee are “always absolutely necessary” given that the dominant principals in the industry are safety and security. “That’s the bedrock of it,” he added, “and paramount is improved communication. If we don’t have sufficient communication, that’s a failure.

“Once the door is open, and we are able to sit at the table, that produces inclusion in the first instance and then consultation. The minister is to be applauded, particularly at this stage of the game. I think we are in for a healthy relationship. The fact the accident occurred on the 53rd Independence anniversary, that’s something we are going to live with forever.

“I must commend that she saw fit to engage stakeholders at this juncture so that all players at the table have an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution. It was a very positive response, a very positive response,” Dr Hamilton added.

“If I may use an analogy, the ground was not totally parched but it was parched enough so that water was running through it. Now, we have a situation where water is on the top and we can work with it. I would say we are in a good starting place. I can be proven otherwise, but what was said was a very positive dialogue. We’ll see of we can keep that accountability as gatekeepers of the industry.

“This kind of environment and atmosphere is key to inclusion and consultation. You cannot out a price tag on it. It paves the way for Bahamian ownership of the industry, and that’s something we’ve always been calling for and expect to happen. We await the response from the minister, which was promised, and once that call is made we are prepared to be responsive.”

Aviation executives last week cited a “domestic safety culture void” and “very weak” regulatory enforcement as factors that potentially contributed to the fatal Independence Day plane crash that killed all ten persons on board.

Captain Randy Butler, former chief executive at Sky Bahamas, told Tribune Business that - while this nation already possesses a strong civil aviation legal and regulatory framework - it must address “system” weaknesses that have thus far prevented full and effective implementation. He also called to “keep the politics out” of regulating the domestic Bahamian aviation industry.

This newspaper’s sources have suggested several high-ranking politicians from the major parties have financial interests in Bahamian airlines and domestic carriers, and Mr Butler described the post-crash Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas’ decision to temporarily suspend Flamingo Air’s air operator certificate (AOC) - which prevents it from flying - as an example of “very reactive’ regulation as opposed to being proactive.

One operator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “You cannot blame oversight. That’s not the problem. All a safety management system involves is a piece of software feeding data into a computer.

“That’s not going to change the culture. The real problem is the lack of safety culture that appears to be taking place in domestic aviation in The Bahamas.” They added that operator training and maintenance budgets in an industry that already has relatively thin profit margins have come under increasing strain in recent years from ever-increasing expenses and cost pressures.

“The economics of aviation are very difficult to begin with, and the Government has started squeezing harder and harder lately,” the source said. “Part of it’s safety, part of it’s economics. The lack of a safety culture takes higher weight here. The other part is complacency.

“The Bahamas is blessed. We are flat; we don’t have obstacles at the end of the runway, we don’t have to contend with winter ice and very rarely have challenging runways. We exist in a very workload environment.” This, the source added, when coupled with the fact that pilots are routinely flying to the same destinations within The Bahamas, can breed over-familiarity and carelessness.

“Complacency is a factor, lack of training is a factor, economics is a factor, safety culture is a factor,” the source said. “With 40 year-old planes, this type of stuff will happen more as the lack of safety culture remains. In domestic aviation, there’s definitely a void when it comes to safety culture. You throw all that stuff into the melting pot….” They added that it is also becoming increasingly difficult to retain qualified pilots and mechanics given the higher salaries offered by markets such as the US.