Both the aircraft and the pilots were in perfect condition – João Abreu

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Both the aircraft and the pilots were in perfect condition – João Abreu

12:40 CAT | 28 Mar 2017

O País / João Abreu

While Mozambican and Zimbabwean experts investigate the cause of the plane crash that killed four passengers and two crew members yesterday, Commander João Abreu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Civil Aviation Institute of Mozambique, was reassuring Maputo that both the plane and the pilots were in good condition.

“We have the aircraft’s airworthiness certificate, which certifies the validity of the aircraft. So the aircraft was certified and in good operational condition. As I mentioned, the pilots had long experience: Captain Barroso was a man of experience and had been flying in Mozambique for many years in the charter sector. So, both the pilots and the aircraft were in perfect condition,” he said.

The charter company ETA Air Charter Lda had a good safety record, commander De Abreu said. Its register reported it has having four aircraft, but more recent information shows that it has only two, the one that crashed being the larger of the two, with nine seats.

“The company has already transported many people here in the country,” De Abreu said. His authority to speak on matters of civil aviation is unquestioned, given his long career in Mozambique Airlines, which allowed to move from commercial flying to head the Civil Aviation Institute of Mozambique.

The managers of ETA Air Charter, interviewed by Mozambican Television in Beira, said the aircraft were maintained regularly, but preferred to leave clarification to the team with the mandate to study the matter and shed light on what happened on the fatal Monday flight.

Source: O País