LUGGAGE AND SAFETY INFORMATION Download Safety Onboard [PDF]

Wilderness Air’s core business is flying people to remote bush airstrips. Previously known as Sefofane, the company has been operating for more than 20 years. Safety is our primary concern and therefore we continually examine and assess safety requirements within our business process. Over the years, the company has kept abreast of the latest safety standards and has tested and implemented them. This approach has put us at the forefront of the niche we operate in – air transport to remote ecotourism destinations. While we cannot hope to explain everything in one short document, below are just some of the initiatives we undertake.

THE WILDERNESS AIR FLEET

Our fleet, operational in 5 countries (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe), includes almost 50 aircraft, including Cessna Grand Caravans (C208 B), C206s, C210s, C402s, Pilatus PC12 and a Citation Mustang Jet. Each aircraft has unique performance characteristics which determine its performance and payload carrying ability.

LUGGAGE AND SAFETY

Our aircraft are not airliners – relatively speaking they are small. This means we have small baggage stowage bays and restrictive weight limitations, for luggage and also passengers. The Wilderness Air luggage specifications are as follows:

• Soft (all sides) luggage / duffel bags – with no rigid sides or wheels

• Maximum luggage weight is 20 kg (including all carry-on luggage if more than one bag and camera equipment)

• Maximum luggage size is 25 cm x 30 cm x 62 cm

SINGLE ENGINE AIRCRAFT SAFETY

The aircraft in our fleet, whether single engine or twin-engine, are specifically chosen for their suitability to the type of airstrips that are found in the remote locations in which we operate. The single turbine engine of the Cessna Grand Caravan C208 B, which constitutes a large portion of our fleet, has been proven to have an excellent safety record. The Caravan is powered by a Pratt and Whitney PT6A engine – which has a record as one of the most reliable engines ever built.

We take our maintenance seriously and we only ever use factory approved engine maintenance facilities. Many of the airstrips we operate out of are about 1000 metres long. In order for most twin-engine aircraft to achieve a margin of safety in the event of an engine failure during take-off, they need about 2000 meters of runway. For this reason we believe that in our ‘bush-strip flying’ environment the single engine aircraft provides us with equivalent or better margin of safety as compared to the twin.

AIR STRIP INVESTMENT

Over the years Wilderness has taken great pride in the upkeep of airstrips that are safe and adequate for safe operations. We pay careful attention to runway width, length and adequate clear area on either side as well as at each end of our airstrips. In all our airstrips we do everything possible to ensure there is an adequate margin of safety. Our airstrips are checked daily prior to each take-off and landing.

ANIMALS ON OUR AIRSTRIPS

People visit the pristine locations we operate in to see among other things wild animals. We share our bush landing strips with those animals. It is important that for every aircraft arrival and departure we have processes in place to ensure that our planes can land safely to reduce the risk of colliding with those animals. Our guides and our pilots are specifically trained to follow processes to manage these risks as carefully as possible.

ORGANISATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SAFETY & SAFETY MANAGEMENT

We employ a highly experienced group safety officer to oversee the safety management of our business. In aviation, safety management has some key guidelines – the heart of which is to ensure that a just culture prevails in our business and that our staff feel free to report on any safety related issues or concerns. Our current group safety officer has spent his life in aviation and retired from SAA having been the airlines 747-400 fleet captain. With his vast aviation experience, he has the experience and stature to command the respect of our management at Wilderness, the risk committee section of our board, as well as our pilots on the front line with the sole purpose of keeping our business safe.

In each region, a trained designated safety officer with the necessary safety qualifications (required by the relevant Civil Aviation Authorities) reports to the group safety officer. This safety monitoring is done in accordance with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) standards. The Safety Management System (SMS) we use is web based and ensures that all safety reports get from the front line of our business to our safety officers promptly. Using this information we are able to take prompt corrective action when neccesary.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING

With the best planning in the world, no airline can ever guarantee that an accident will never happen. In early 2011 we refined our emergency response plan and formalised our disaster management plan. Our disaster management centre is set up in our office in Johannesburg. This centre is permanently linked to a professional incident management centre with a response team and doctor available 24/7/365. We have access to the best decision making from people who know Africa intimately and can mobilise emergency resources and coordinate a response anywhere we opperate. We have run drills with our staff operations. This is an ongoing process. We expect every person, from the CEO of Wilderness down, to be familiar with the plan so that our business has a high level of preparedness at all times.

SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM

The majority of our aircraft are fitted with a real time satellite tracking system. With this system our operational bases get a constant update of each aircraft’s position, airspeed and altitude. Apart from the obvious safety benefit, it also means that our operations staff is able to keep camps accurately updated as to our arrival and departure times. This we do to keep our service levels as high as possible at all times. It is our plan to fit all our aircraft with this system in the near future.

ENGINE CONDITION TREND MONITORING SYSTEM

Most of our Cessna Grand Caravan C208 B fleet is fitted with an engine trend monitoring system which allows the maintenance organisation to monitor engine performance of individual aircraft. This system will detect any abnormal shifts in engine performance, and provides us with diagnostic information to timeously attend to maintenance issues before they become concerning.

MAINTENANCE

Wilderness Air Charters as a group use selected Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved maintenance organisations in each country. Aircraft in the Wilderness Air Botswana, Wilderness Air Zambia and Wilderness Air Zimbabwe fleets are maintained by Northern Air Maintenance (NAM) of which Wilderness Air Charters is the parent company. Aircraft are maintained according to regulated maintenance schedules as stipulated by the relevant CAAs and also in accordance to manufacturer requirements. Northern Air Maintenance is recognised as the foremost provider of this service in Botswana and included amongst its clientele are most air charter operations based in Maun.

AUDITS

Each Wilderness Air operation and their Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) are audited annually by the CAA in the relevant country of operation. In addition to this, Wilderness Air Botswana and its maintenance division, Northern Air Maintenance, are also audited annually by an independent recognised NGO. In all audits to date we have been found compliant to local and international maintenance control standards.

TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT

There is no safety substitute to having well trained pilots. At the outset, as a minimum, Wilderness Air only employs pilots that hold valid commercial pilot licences. After selecting pilots, we embark on a major training process. In order to gain employment with Wilderness Air, an individual is required to go through the following process:

• A written exam: The individual will have to sit a comprehensive written exam, which assesses the individual’s general knowledge of aviation.

• Licence: The individual’s licence details are double-checked and confirmed. No photocopies are accepted, individuals must produce the original licence. The pilot’s log book is also checked to confirm the individual’s experience on various makes and models of aircraft.

• Interview: Provided an individual has met the minimum pass requirement set on the exam, and has a valid licence, the interview process begins. The interviews are conducted by the senior regional management teams in the various territories, this includes the persons responsible for Flight Operations; Training; Safety and the Chief Pilot.

• Screening: A check is done with the individual’s flight school, or previous employer, to confirm no incidents/accidents have taken place. References are checked.

• Test Flight: Prospective pilots carry out a flight test with either the Chief Pilot, Senior Training Captain, Instructor, or one of the senior Wilderness Air pilots. Should the individual meet the criteria as set out above, they will be offered employment with Wilderness Air, provided they can complete the Wilderness Air training program.

• Probation: Once employed, our pilots undergo a detailed aspect based training programme which ensures that they have all the neccesary skills and competencies to operate our aircrafts safely in the bush environment we fly to. Further assessments are then done by means of routine checks before any pilot is allowed to fly with guests.

• Proficiency checks: Once employed, pilots must pass a proficiency check every 6 months.

INSURANCE COVER

AVIATION PASSENGER LIABILITY GENERAL DETAILS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

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