In the wake of Monday's accident, SA AIRLINK has until Friday to provide South African Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele with proof that it is fit to continue to operate. The chief executive of SA Airlink said last night he was "worried" by Ndebele's announcement that he was considering shutting down the privately owned Airline, a partner of the national carrier SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS, "following a string of aviation safety incidents involving the Airline in the past few months". Ndebele said: "This is a concern also shared by the South African Civil Aviation Authority." The minister convened an urgent meeting with CAA representatives yesterday. After the meeting, Ndebele said he had demanded that a report on all incidents and accidents involving Airlink in the last 6 months, and reports of audits on the Airline by the CAA, be presented to him by the "close of business on Friday". SA Airlink would not confirm if it was possible for the Airline to comply with the instruction, saying the auditing process with the CAA was under way and would continue "as long as it takes" to find any gaps in operating, management or training procedure. On Monday, SA Airlink Flight 8625, carrying 30 passengers and 3 crew members, overshot the runway at George Airport, crashing through a fence and coming to an abrupt halt in a ditch running alongside a road. Last month Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was reportedly aboard an SA Airlink flight that was forced to return to OR Tambo International Airport due to "a technical fault". Ndebele has also requested voice recordings from the cockpit of an Airlink plane involved in a crash in Durban 2 months ago, in which the Pilot was killed, and 3 others critically injured. Should SA Airlink be grounded, bookings for the holiday season and transport during the 2010 World Cup will be affected. Airlink carries 65,000 passengers a month to nearly 20 destinations in South Africa and others in Africa, including Mozambique, Zambia and Madagascar.
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