FACE TO FACE DIRECTOR OF THE CAA: MS POPPY KHOZA
SA Flyer Magazine|May 2022
Ms Poppy Khoza has been the Director of the CAA for more almost 10 years something of a record. She must be doing something right to have lasted so long in such a difficult job. Guy Leitch caught up with her.
Guy Leitch
FACE TO FACE DIRECTOR OF THE CAA: MS POPPY KHOZA

GL: I have been very critical recently about the CAA and particularly the handling of the Comair grounding. One of the criticisms I had of the grounding was that you were not leading from the front. That is, you were not handling the media announcements, but rather leaving it to your senior managers. Grounding an airline is an extremely serious action and so would it not have been reasonable for you to have been personally making the announcements as the Director of the CAA (DCA)?

PK: The reason is simple: The power to ground an aircraft or suspend an airline is given to the authorised officer in terms of the Civil Aviation Act read with the associated regulations. A person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the inspector or authorised officer has a right to appeal to me. Until the suspension or grounding is appealed against, it would be premature, irregular and improper for me as the Director to be involved, comment or handle media queries. It is for this reason, that the Director should not only be seen, but should actually be impartial and stay out of announcements and involvement with the airline and media.

GL: Have you ever overruled one of your inspectors?

PK: Yes, there are many times when I have overruled inspectors or authorised officer decisions because I have an opportunity to evaluate representations and evidence from both sides.

GL: You have done very well with your ICAO audits, achieving a world class 87%. However, I am reliably told that in November an FAA inspection uncovered a number of findings and that the FAA will be back in May to review progress on these findings. Are you concerned that the FAA may downgrade the CAA from its current A1 status?

Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SA FLYER MAGAZINESe alt
Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
SA Flyer Magazine

Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
SA Flyer Magazine

UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6

When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
SA Flyer Magazine

CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA

What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024

The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024

This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
SA Flyer Magazine

PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)

Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
APRIL 2023
SA Flyer Magazine

APRIL 2023

April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
SA Flyer Magazine

PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 2024
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
SA Flyer Magazine

STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW

The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2024
The Aim of Bombing
SA Flyer Magazine

The Aim of Bombing

In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024