Citation

Paul IK, Thomas JA, Kavishe ZJ, Jubilate A, Nchasi G. Public Health Chall. 2023; 2(3): e107.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/puh2.107

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Achieving aviation safety is still a challenge in the African region. The field does not receive much attention before the occurrence of accidents, resulting in tragic outcomes such as high numbers of deaths and injuries. On 6 November 2022, a Tanzanian Precision Air company aircraft crashed in Lake Victoria following the pilots' attempt to land it at Bukoba Airport. The accident resulted in 19 deaths out of the 43 passengers and crew onboard [1]. The main cause of the crash was attributed to a storm and bad weather conditions, which forced the pilots to reroute the aircraft and land it in the lake. Fishermen who were near the area responded immediately and were able to rescue the survivors of the crash [1]. Although the African aviation field lacks enough studies and research, one study revealed a total of 132 air accidents in the region from 2004 to 2013. It showed that the most common causes of these accidents were attributed to technical failure, pilot error, and the weather [2]. This article aims to explore the significant challenges that Tanzania faces concerning aviation safety and its relation to the African region as a whole.

The Bukoba Airport has seen increased utilization in recent years for residents of the Western Lake Victoria zone for regular flying and landing activities [3]. Inadequate aviation infrastructure has affected the activities at the airport and is seen as one of the major causes of the recent crash. According to the Tanzania Airports Authorities, the airstrip was 30 m wide and upgraded from 1200 to 1500 m. However, the airport still maintains a small parking area for the planes and is too closely situated to the runway making it difficult for airplanes to take off and land...

Language: en