- National airliner buys unfit P250 million jet - Jet was stuck in Kenya for five days - It needs millions to make it fly - We bought a scrap
The P250 million second-hand Embraer E175STD arrived at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport last week Wednesday night but was subjected to a water salute ceremony on Friday morning.
This was after it was allegedly stuck in Kenya from August 24, 2024 until August 28, 2024. On August 29, 2024, Air Botswana Maintenance Control Head Cassandra Hartney sent an email to colleagues about the aircraft serviceability status.
"Please find aircraft serviceability status brief attached. Kindly note we have a DD on A2-ABE expiring today, the ordered parts ETA is yet TBA," Hartney wrote.
Sources within Air Botswana said the aircraft is grounded officially in the hangar. A2-ABE is its registration. DD means Deferred Defect, and that it came with a serious problem, landed in Kenya and the problem was difficult to attend in Kenya, then they did DD which is a special authorisation to fly it to its home base whilst there is a problem, insiders said.
"Even if it crashed then the Kenyans will be exonerated. Now the authorisation (DD) has expired upon its arrival. So, it is grounded. We just bought scrap," a source said.
“ETA is the exact time of arrival of the parts, while TBA means it is not known when the parts will arrive. The water salute ceremony should have been performed on Wednesday upon the aircraft landing at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport but was performed on Friday morning when the aircraft was unveiled to invited dignitaries including President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
“Air Botswana employees said the celebration was a deception since the aircraft is not airworthy,” an engineer at Air Botswana said, adding that millions are needed to make it fly and it is not going to fly soon.
Flight radar shows the Embraer was stuck in Kenya from 24-28th. Pilots of the same aircraft posted on social media in hotels and their departure to Gaborone. Deferred Defect was applied in Kenya for the aircraft to arrive home, this is a special authorisation for a faulty aircraft to reach home. Deferred Defect expired upon its arrival thus grounding it. Email by Cassandra shows it's grounded until parts arrive and date of their arrival not known.
“Water shower displayed was a lie, the aircraft remains in the hanger and has not flown going against the promise to the public that it will service new routes starting 1st September 2024. On arrival the crew reported server engine vibration and leakage of engine oil was also observed on inspection. Aircraft remained in Nairobi being attended by maintenance engineers until departure on arrival 28 August where is operated direct to Gaborone and
take into Air Botswana hangars,” the source said.
Information gathered by this publication is that on 29 August 2024 Air Botswana maintenance control informed managers that the aircraft had a special authorisation called DD that expired on that day meaning the Aircraft was
no longer safe to fly.
A Deferred Defect is a special authorisation that is issued when an aircraft has a system or mechanical failure and the system or aircraft cannot operate as normal. The degree of the defect will allow the aircraft to be operated for a limited period of time-normally only a few days or one flight to allow the aircraft to return to its base for further and full maintenance to be carried out. Other limitation include flights limited to day time only and or flight without passengers.
In this case the deferred defect expired on the 29th of August 2024 and the aircraft cannot operate further until the problem is correctly resolved.
“The aircraft has remained grounded. Additionally, the aircraft is not on the operation specification of Air Botswana which means the airline cannot operate the aircraft on schedule until such time it is serviceable and included on the operations specification.
“When a jet engine has severe vibration it likely means that there is an imbalance with the blades of the engine. Either main fan, power turbine but commonly compressor blades,” the source continued.
Lebogang Segwagwe, Executive Secretary at Air Botswana acknowledged receipt of the Botswana Guardian questionnaire sent to Air Botswana. “However upon opening the questionnaire it gets juggled up so cannot read it,” Segwagwe said. However, Segwagwe did not respond to the alternative format used to send the questions.
In March this year, Botswana Guardian reported that the controversial arrest of two senior officers of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Paul Setlhabi and Pulane Kgaodi, was sparked by the interrogation and torture of senior executives at Air Botswana. It emerged at the time that the officers who are senior at the DIS rounded up the executives of Air Botswana and questioned them about the procurement of the aircraft from Embraer in Brazil.
It is alleged that the arrested duo rounded up the airline General manager, Senior Manager Legal Services, Human Resources manager among others where the procurement processes was questioned.
It is alleged that there has been a tip-off about the procurement of the aircraft where a whistle-blower in the aviation industry indicated that there was corruption involved in the procurement processes.
The alleged intimidation and torture is said to have prompted the General Manager to report the matter to the DIS Director General Peter Magosi and questioned him on why his lieutenants have gone rogue.
The agents who are currently on suspension pending investigations have since slapped the DIS with a P4. 4 million lawsuit.
This was after it was allegedly stuck in Kenya from August 24, 2024 until August 28, 2024. On August 29, 2024, Air Botswana Maintenance Control Head Cassandra Hartney sent an email to colleagues about the aircraft serviceability status.
"Please find aircraft serviceability status brief attached. Kindly note we have a DD on A2-ABE expiring today, the ordered parts ETA is yet TBA," Hartney wrote.
Sources within Air Botswana said the aircraft is grounded officially in the hangar. A2-ABE is its registration. DD means Deferred Defect, and that it came with a serious problem, landed in Kenya and the problem was difficult to attend in Kenya, then they did DD which is a special authorisation to fly it to its home base whilst there is a problem, insiders said.
"Even if it crashed then the Kenyans will be exonerated. Now the authorisation (DD) has expired upon its arrival. So, it is grounded. We just bought scrap," a source said.
“ETA is the exact time of arrival of the parts, while TBA means it is not known when the parts will arrive. The water salute ceremony should have been performed on Wednesday upon the aircraft landing at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport but was performed on Friday morning when the aircraft was unveiled to invited dignitaries including President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
“Air Botswana employees said the celebration was a deception since the aircraft is not airworthy,” an engineer at Air Botswana said, adding that millions are needed to make it fly and it is not going to fly soon.
Flight radar shows the Embraer was stuck in Kenya from 24-28th. Pilots of the same aircraft posted on social media in hotels and their departure to Gaborone. Deferred Defect was applied in Kenya for the aircraft to arrive home, this is a special authorisation for a faulty aircraft to reach home. Deferred Defect expired upon its arrival thus grounding it. Email by Cassandra shows it's grounded until parts arrive and date of their arrival not known.
“Water shower displayed was a lie, the aircraft remains in the hanger and has not flown going against the promise to the public that it will service new routes starting 1st September 2024. On arrival the crew reported server engine vibration and leakage of engine oil was also observed on inspection. Aircraft remained in Nairobi being attended by maintenance engineers until departure on arrival 28 August where is operated direct to Gaborone and
take into Air Botswana hangars,” the source said.
Information gathered by this publication is that on 29 August 2024 Air Botswana maintenance control informed managers that the aircraft had a special authorisation called DD that expired on that day meaning the Aircraft was
no longer safe to fly.
A Deferred Defect is a special authorisation that is issued when an aircraft has a system or mechanical failure and the system or aircraft cannot operate as normal. The degree of the defect will allow the aircraft to be operated for a limited period of time-normally only a few days or one flight to allow the aircraft to return to its base for further and full maintenance to be carried out. Other limitation include flights limited to day time only and or flight without passengers.
In this case the deferred defect expired on the 29th of August 2024 and the aircraft cannot operate further until the problem is correctly resolved.
“The aircraft has remained grounded. Additionally, the aircraft is not on the operation specification of Air Botswana which means the airline cannot operate the aircraft on schedule until such time it is serviceable and included on the operations specification.
“When a jet engine has severe vibration it likely means that there is an imbalance with the blades of the engine. Either main fan, power turbine but commonly compressor blades,” the source continued.
Lebogang Segwagwe, Executive Secretary at Air Botswana acknowledged receipt of the Botswana Guardian questionnaire sent to Air Botswana. “However upon opening the questionnaire it gets juggled up so cannot read it,” Segwagwe said. However, Segwagwe did not respond to the alternative format used to send the questions.
In March this year, Botswana Guardian reported that the controversial arrest of two senior officers of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Paul Setlhabi and Pulane Kgaodi, was sparked by the interrogation and torture of senior executives at Air Botswana. It emerged at the time that the officers who are senior at the DIS rounded up the executives of Air Botswana and questioned them about the procurement of the aircraft from Embraer in Brazil.
It is alleged that the arrested duo rounded up the airline General manager, Senior Manager Legal Services, Human Resources manager among others where the procurement processes was questioned.
It is alleged that there has been a tip-off about the procurement of the aircraft where a whistle-blower in the aviation industry indicated that there was corruption involved in the procurement processes.
The alleged intimidation and torture is said to have prompted the General Manager to report the matter to the DIS Director General Peter Magosi and questioned him on why his lieutenants have gone rogue.
The agents who are currently on suspension pending investigations have since slapped the DIS with a P4. 4 million lawsuit.
