South African inspectors have cleared Airlink to resume services with a single aircraft from its British Aerospace Jetstream 41 fleet, two weeks after the type was grounded.
The regional airline's entire Jetstream fleet was taken out of operation after an engine problem on a 23 December flight, which bore similarities to the failure linked to a fatal Airlink accident three months earlier.
South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority says it will only allow the aircraft to fly again once they have undergone an inspection. The authority started examining the fleet on 1 January.
"To date, one Jetstream aircraft belonging to Airlink has successfully completed its recertification process and, as such, the commissioner for civil aviation has uplifted the suspension on this aircraft," it states.
Recertification, the CAA adds, also included a "thorough inspection" of all maintenance processes.
Two other Jetstreams, which are used by charter operator ExecuJet, have also been cleared by the CAA.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
