92 SA Flyer

Back in late 1999, I

bought my own airfield.

The future of my airfield

is now at stake, and

although a sad and

frustrating inconvenience

for me, the ramifications

of requiring all airfields

to be registered are

far greater for charter

operators and the lodges

they service.

MY AIRFIELD

The aireld was bought on a whim.

It had been abandoned for a few months

and had been stripped of roof sheeting,

plumbing and electrical ttings. The owner

had decided to emigrate, the asking price

was a bargain, and I was in the right place

at the right time.

The previous owner had done

everything by the book: The aireld

had been approved by all the relevant

authorities, even with business rights as

an airport, and all plans for structures and

the runway were present and correct. Even

the CAA had provided a letter giving their

blessing, although this was not required at

that time.

Other than the runway, the only

developments were a robust brick and

mortar hangar that incorporated a modest

house within the same structure, and at

the far end of the property was a store,

which I later converted into stables and

accommodation for the groom.

I was going through a divorce at the

time and, as a temporary measure, decided

to move into the small house that was an

adjunct to the hangar in which my aircraft

were now living – having moved them over

from Lanseria. Little did I know that some

17 years later, I would still be living there.

It turned out to be quite idyllic for my

needs. My cars, aircraft and workshop

were just outside the kitchen door in a

largish hangar, and there were nearby

supermarkets, banks and post ofces. The

neighbours are all pleasant and I allow the

local radio-controlled model club to use the

place on Saturday afternoons, subject to

some strict rules. I also allow some ying

schools to use the aireld to drill students in

precautionary and forced landings.

THE TROUBLE STARTS

A decade ago, CAA began some

tentative proposals to make it compulsory

for all airelds in the country to be

‘registered’. As the regulations currently

stand in relation to Part 139 of the SA-

CATS, registered airelds would have to

comply with some minimum standards as to

size, length, slope and surface, and include

the provision of re engines, ambulances

and other equipment, as well as qualied

personnel to man them.

This was met with some consternation

by the owners of the couple of thousand

or so places in the country where aircraft

takeoff and land from time to time. A

group of aireld owners formed the

Aireld Owners Association (AOA) which

quickly gained a membership of some 120

privately owned and operated airelds. The

primary purpose of AOA was to combat

these irrational and impractical proposed

regulations.

In the words of then Commissioner of

Civil Aviation, Colin Jordaan: “All ‘places of

departure’ will have to be registered with

the CAA. Non-commercial places will be

reliant on ‘self-policing’ with only ‘common

law’ requirements, i.e. those that common

logic dictates anyway. An annual statement

of compliance will have to be submitted

to CAA for updating the online database

to be used by pilots. Commercial places

(e.g. game farms) will attract an annual

inspection from CAA.”

It is notable that right from the outset,

CHRIS MARTINUS

PRESIDENT AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION – SOUTH AFRICA

THE PRIVATE-USE AIRFIELDS

Saga

Charter companies rely heavily on

private unregistered airfields to

transport guests to safari lodges.

www.sayermag.com

CAA uses the word ‘commercial’, not in

the sense of commercial aviation, but

enterprises such as agriculture, tourism, or

even just a hot-dog stand.

Jordaan went on to justify this aireld

registration on vague safety grounds and

said: “It will generally be safer for tourists to

be own to game farms and the country is

less likely to incur a very expensive lawsuit

when a high value celebrity or VIP meets

with misfortune at one of the currently

unsafe places that do exist.”

However, when pressed, the CAA was

unable to cite any such ‘unsafe places’ or

any accidents or incidents in support of this

contention. Furthermore, AOA undertook a

study of the accident reports and couldn’t

nd anything that supported the concept

that unregistered airstrips are unsafe.

Jordaan alluded to unregistered

airelds being a security risk: “Besides the

safety aspect, there is also a considerable

amount of cross border smuggling that is

taking place using unregistered strips and

unscrupulous pilots, which has resulted in

legitimate pilots being questioned by cross

border police at many airelds.”

Again, neither the South African Police

Service nor CAA have, despite frequent

requests over several years, been able

to come up with instances where private

airelds have been used for these nefarious

purposes.

The part that really began to strain

credibility was Jordaan’s statement that “the

CAA has taken into account the impact on

tourism.” For example, it would severely

hinder the tour operators and charter

companies that y into the many lodges in

the Lowveld.

This course of action has been

proposed and re-proposed several times in

the intervening years. Small changes have

been made, but the thrust is the same: All

airelds must be registered, and if there

is any kind of ‘commercial’ activity on the

land, it must be licensed at great expense

and inconvenience.

Around the same time as the rst

proposals to force licensing and registration

of the multitude of small airelds

commenced, there was a sudden regular

invasion of police onto small airelds. SAPS

ofcers would arrive and ask to have a

look around. At rst, they were received

politely and offered any information they

asked for. But the visits became more and

more pervasive. Groups of sometimes

four or more SAPS ofcers would barge

through my front door, and walk around

the place while one would distract me with

contrived conversation. They wouldn’t give

any legitimate reasons for their visits. On

one occasion, it was laughably suggested

by one creative ofcer that pilots were

smuggling chickens into the country and

spreading avian u.

This happened at most airelds

around the country. The last straw for me

was when the cops rolled up while I was

engaged in a business meeting at my

home and insisted on “looking around”. I

informed them politely that these searches

without a warrant were a breach of my

rights to privacy and they were to please

leave. This elicited the response from one

particularly bolshie police inspector that I

“must have something to hide” and that he

“could make things difcult for me”.

That happened back in 2008 and

I made a complaint to the SAPS and

the Independent Police Investigative

Directorate (IPID). It culminated in a

meeting with the local station commander

in which it was agreed that police ofcers

would not enter my property without a

warrant signed by a magistrate, or at the

very least without telephonically making an

appointment.

Things were quiet for some time, until

CAA revived their licensing and registration

proposals. By this time I had joined the

board of AOPA, which had also taken an

interest in these goings-on.

THE LAW

The regulation of aviation, particularly

international aviation, largely rests on

the standards agreed to in terms of the

Convention on International Civil Aviation

and set out in ICAO’s standards and

recommended practices (SARPs). Annex

14 of the SARPs recommends the following:

“States should certify aerodromes open

to public use in accordance with these

specications as well as other relevant

ICAO specications through an appropriate

regulatory framework.” I will look more

closely at what this certication entails in

relation to licensing and registration in a

follow-on column.

CAA’s past and current proposals to

regulate currently unlicensed airelds

conate commercial activities with

‘public use’, and this is where most of the

resistance from stakeholders who own,

operate or use these airelds has come

from. The current round of proposals has

attracted hundreds of formal comments in

addition to 2,447 petitioners, accompanied

by 1,137 informal objections opposing the

promulgation of these regulations, which,

most onerously, will make it illegal for

anyone to takeoff or land at any place other

than a registered or licensed aireld.

It is certainly desirable for public-use

airelds to be licensed. It makes sense for

airports that are open to all and sundry, to

be regulated, inspected and published.

On the other hand, a pilot ying to an

unlicensed aireld carries the legal duty to

ensure that it is safe to land at an aireld

that may only be maintained sporadically,

often by someone who has little knowledge

of what is adequate for the particular

aircraft. Thus, a commercial operator could

have a private agreement to operate in and

out of the private-use aireld.

Historically, many of South Africa’s

smaller airports were constructed, operated

and maintained by the local municipality.

The municipalities recognised the

importance of having an airport as part

of their transport infrastructure. These

airports were therefore public-use facilities

designed to enhance and develop their

areas of governance as a whole.

Alas, many of this country’s municipal

airports have fallen into disuse and

AOPA BRIEFING

CHRIS MARTINUS

PRESIDENT AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION – SOUTH AFRICA

Airfields owned and used for

personal use on private land

would have to be registered

under new regulations.

Ettienne Fouche

94 SA Flyer

disrepair or, where they have survived, are

operated and maintained by private entities

such as ying clubs or groups of individuals

who have privately invested in keeping

them operational. As such, even municipally

owned airports are falling into the private-

use category.

Few small airports are protable, and

it is for this reason that the imposition of

costly draconian regulations will likely

guarantee their closure.

NEXT MONTH

There is far, far more to this issue that

has unfolded over the past decade. Next

month I will deal in more detail with the

intrigue and legal complexities associated

with the various private and public interests

that are threatening our proud infrastructure

of smaller unlicensed airelds.

ABOVE - Plettenberg Bay Airport. Airports

open to the public should be licensed,

especially if they cater to scheduled flights.

Charters, Jet Charter,

Medic Vac &

Air Ambulance

We Oﬀ er

Private Pilot Licence ● Commercial Pilot Licence

● Airline Transport Pilot Licence ● Night Ra ng

● High performance aircra type ra ng

● Instrument Ra ng ● Mul -engine aircra conversions and

helicopter training as well.

Contact details: info@flywftc.com /

p i l o t s @ f l y w f t c . c o m

Tel: +264 61 238191

web: www.flywftc.com

SA Flyer 2016|12