'Race plays an important role" warns Solidarity trade union: race-related Air Traffic Control problems create serious safety conditions for aircraft in South Africa
-- Two senior white air-traffic-control officials suspended for 'racism' after they wanted to charge black air traffic officials for gross negligence over near-miss 'mistakes' "Wow: that was a close call...' Rapport daily quoted the reaction by black air-traffic control officer Patrick Sithole after he directed two aircraft to the same airstrip in June 2013.
Only the action taken by one of the pilots avoided a disastrous crash between a Boeing 777-200 of Thai Airways and and a light craft of Airlink. Sihole failed to take remedial action and merely said: 'wow that was a close call' when the smaller aircraft pilot took action. The two craft would have crashed into the airport building if this hadn't been done, wrote Rapport."Eighteen months after an air-traffic control official nearly caused two aircraft to crash against each other at the Johannesburg International Airport near Kempton Park, he has still not been
punished for his 'mistake'. However the two white managers who insisted that Patrick Sithole be rapped over the fingers, have been suspended with accusations that they were racist for
daring to criticise Sithole's poor performance.
Johnny Smit and Leon Altree were 'racists' for recommending that steps be taken against Sithole and three other collegues who also made various 'mistakes'
which could have created aircraft accidents and which endangered human lives.
ATNS claims that Smit and Altree were 'racist' because at the same time they did not recommend steps against a white air-traffic controller who also made mistake.
The internal hearing against Smit - manager of air-traffic control officials - and Altree, acting ceo at ATNS, started behind closed dooors in October 2014.
One incident described in the report - of which Rapport Afrikaans weekly has a copy - dealt with a near-miss
on June 2013 when Sithole directed a Boeing 777-200 of Thai Airways to take off and at the same time also gave an instruction to land on the same landing lane to a light aircraft of Airlink.
A tape was played showing that Sithole became aware that his action could have led to an accident yet that he remained silent rather than take the prescribed emergency measures.
A disaster was averted when the pilot of the Airlink light aircraft aborted his landing with a very risky maneuver.
If this had not been done it was a very real possibility that the aircraft could have crashed into the airport building.
On the tape Sithole said out loud to himself: "this isn't going to work.' And later when the smaller aircraft aborted the landing, he said 'Wow that was a close call'.
Yet the internal hearing does not deal with Sithole's incompetence but rather with the 'racism' of Lee and Altree for their alleged 'double standards'.
Smit and Altree said the ATNS 'prefers to ignore the nature and seriousness of these various incidents. They also said that the white traffic official made 'a far less important error and also immediately took remedial action according to the standard procedures laid down for this'. "The white official, other than did Sithole, did not leave the situation to the pilots to solve,' said Smit and Lee.
The two white men are also accused of maintaining 'racist shift schedules so that the majority of white officials work at one shift and the black ones at another shift.
Solidarity trade union which represents Lee and Altree said the complaints against their clients are 'ridiculous, far-fetched and shocking'.
Its spokesman Viljoen said the public safety is at issue here because these serious transgressions are being completely ignored.'
Viljoen warns that 'passengers will have to think twice before climbing on an aircraft in South Africa, as the ATNS does not have a standard for the quality of its air-traffic control officers'. "Race plays an important role when the decision has to be made to take actions against air traffic control officers who are guilty of gross negligence,' said Viljoen.
The ATNS managing director claims he's 'not aware of the incident' except the fact that 'Smit and Altree are accused of racism.'
They refused to provide a way to contact Sithole so that the newspaper could approach him for comment.
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