The 17 August crash of a Boeing 737-700 on Colombia's San Andres Island should become a wake-up call for improving safety standards in Latin America.
While it is too early to determine any probable causes, the aircraft attempted to land during a thunderstorm in a relatively poorly equipped airport. The operator, Colombian low-cost carrier Aires, is not International Air Transport Association operational safety audit (IOSA) certificated.
The crash, which resulted in one fatality and more than 100 injuries, is already the second hull loss in Latin America this year and the fourth since 2008. The region, led by Latin American airline association ALTA, has launched a safety improvement initiative focusing on runway excursions and unstabilised approaches - the region's two most common causes for crashes. The initiative aims to match by 2014 North America's safety record. To achieve that, Latin America can only afford one hull loss every four years.
Clearly, Latin America needs to invest in safety equipment. While most of region's major airports have the right tools, some smaller airports such as San Andres do not meet international standards.
The region's regulatory authorities also need to invest in staffing and training. The US Federal Aviation Administration recently downgraded Mexico to a category 2 safety rating, primarily because of a lack of check pilots. But, ALTA says half of the $4 billion in airport, navigation and other charges collected annually from the region's airlines is redirected outside aviation.
This cash drain is particularly unacceptable as traffic in the region soars. Traffic in Colombia in the first half of this year grew 38% and in Latin America overall it rose 16%, outpacing the world.
Increasing demand is leading to a surge in start-up activity, fast growth at second-tier carriers and consolidation among the leading players such as the proposed LAN-TAM combination.
As Latin America takes off, its airlines and regulation authorities should adopt IOSA as a standard requirement. Sadly, ALTA's embrace of IOSA as a membership requirement cost it four members at the beginning of this year, including Aires.
Latin America's airlines need to redouble their efforts. That means using resources available at the ALTA and International Civil Aviation Organisation levels, exchanging information, developing safety programmes and making completion of an IOSA audit a priority.
Source: Flight International
