SAA spokesperson comments on pilot’s fake licence on Breakfast with Martin Bester
The SAA pilot flew for more than 20 years without the correct certification.
Martin Bester was shocked when he heard the news that SAA pilot, William Chandler, had no certification to operate big aircraft on long-haul flights.
He has been forced to step down after more than two decades without the correct qualifications.
SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, sent an e-mail to Breakfast with Martin Bester, stating: ‘South African Airways seeks to recover millions from former pilot and lays criminal charges. South African Airways (SAA) has uncovered discrepancies relating to the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) of one of its former pilots following an investigation into an incident involving one flight to Germany late last year. The pilot has since resigned and the airline has laid criminal charges against him and will seek to recover millions of Rand unduly expended and offered a reward to him on the strength of representations he made to the airline.’
READ: SAA to claim money back from ‘fake pilot’
Tlali went further to explain the incident, and commented: ‘We take note that at no point did the alleged fraudulent license present any safety risk to SAA's operation as the pilot in question was in possession of a valid Commercial Pilot License (CPL) and was the monitoring pilot and not the commander of the aircraft. The pilot had successfully completed all required safety training. However, we find it disconcerting that misrepresentations were made about the type of license that the pilot claimed to possess.’
