20 Nov 2019

 Air Botswana engineers are capable of maintaining Embraer  E-170 and other types since they have undergone the required E170-100 aircraft type training.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Thulagano Segokgo, told Parliament that the engineers were required by law to accumulate at least one-year experience on the type before they could independently work on the E170 aircraft type.

Mr Segokgo’s response was concerning a question by the Selebi Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse, who wanted to know whether Air Botswana’s Embraer E-170 was involved in any hard landing incident and taken to Kenya for inspection or maintenance.

The minister confirmed the incident, which he said happened on October 19.

 “The E170 was taken to Kenya and the entire trip cost the airline US$9 946 (8 850 for maintenance plu 1 096 for per dium),” he said.

He said Air Botswana had some of the tools but Kenya Airways had been contracted to do maintenance and skills transfer on the E170 aircraft.

He further explained that the procurement officer did not visit Canada to source special tools, but to inspect on-site stock for the E170 that the supplier had sold with the aircraft.

“For all aircraft types, including E170, the manufacturer supplies the maintenance planning documents, which provide information of the scheduled maintenance needs of the aircraft and this is what Air Botswana is complying with to carry out both long and short term maintenance,” he said. 

Minister Segokgo said the Air Botswana engineering personnel had been trained on the aircraft under observation by Kenya Airways personnel in the short term, for that period of 12 months as prescribed by law.

 He said the regulator being the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana also ensured that the airline complied with the maintenance plan.

The Selebi Phikwe legislator, Mr Keorapetse, had also wanted to know the cost, including per dium, if Air Botswana Aircraft engineers were capable of fully maintaining the Embraer E-170 and such other types and if the airline had tools such as for same.

He also inquired if any procurement officer visited Canada to source special tools for the aircraft around the time that it was acquired and how the airline was addressing short and long-term maintenance needs of the aircraft. Ends