Page 24 - Official Report of the 4th CASSOA _Sympossium.ai

Clossing day

Recertification process a collaborative

approach

by Fred Opot,
Vice Chair of Kenya Association of Air Operators

Opot outlined the regulatory framework in Kenya as the He noted that the capacity of an organization to perform
Civil Aviation Amendment Act 2002 that created KCAA prescribed tasks is dependent on the human capacity,
and later the subsidiary legislation with requirement for initial and recurrent training and previous experience.
organizations previously approved, which includes a He noted that collaboration between regulator and
5-phase process including pre-application, formal appli- regulated entity is required for safety as an antagonistic
cation, document evaluation, demonstration & inspec- stance creates no winners, as regulators require having
tion and certification. He indicated that since 2007 the requisite tools of training and guidance materials and
recertification stopped after discovery that the recom- for the regulated entity to be conversant with require-
mended process followed in certification was not ments. He outlined that from 2002-2007 industry
followed to the letter resulting in the process to be lagged on domesticating ICAO SARPs as it was identi-
repeated afresh. This challenge was compounded by the fied that weak regulatory regime was cause for Africa’s
large number of new operators, maintenance and train- poor safety record.
ing organizations requiring to be certificated. He
indicated since the civil aviation industry in highly regu- He noted that a flight safety performance report indicat-
lated and to be able to achieve high standards the regu- ed that even though 2017 was the safest year for airline
lated entities must have a quality system with the regu- passengers, Sub Saharan Africa has an accident rate
lator having a mandate to maintain surveillance of the that is 44% higher that global average, thus even if
industry. He indicated that the regulated entity must set African safety has improved there is a gap to close,
out procedures for various processes that require to be which can be closed by devotion to meeting high
approved and which should be relevant to the organiza- standards of airworthiness and collaboration with regu-
tion’s activities. lators.

Challenges and Opportunities of

Managing Drones

by Fred Opot,
Vice Chair of Kenya Association of Air Operators

Kizito introduced the case of drone by highlighting that He indicated that Rwanda provided a legal framework
disruptive innovation always wins, where it will initially that incorporates innovation and addresses security
face resistance but as more as the technology delivers concerns. He outlined of the two routes of regulations
performance with time it gains more acceptance. He for basic operations, and risk assessment for specific or
outlined that operating a drone presented a navigation complex operations. He indicated how the country
challenge of loss of separation, airspace violation, lack overcame the challenge of the lack of technological and
of coordination and emergency procedures. operational standards to develop advisory circulars and

Official report of the 4th East African Community - CASSOA Sympossium 2018
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