Theo Meester

Included in my normal duties as a Captain on international flights was the requirement to maintain a working knowledge of the following subjects:

Legislation applicable to air operations in and out of Mauritius.

Legislation applicable to air operations wrt the particular countries where we had destinations as well as the countries being overflown.

An in depth knowledge of the regulations pertaining to RVSM, ETOPS,Depressurization escape maneuvres in various regions with particular attention to local procedures and legislation.

The oversight and management of documents on board the aircraft required by the regulatory authorities of the various destinations.This included the requirement to demonstrate the validity and amendment status to representatives of regulatory bodies conducting safety audits on our aircraft at the various destinations.

Ensuring that the aircrew assigned to the flight were in posession of the relevant personal documentation required for the flight prior to departure.

Over and above my duties as a pilot I was involved,on a voluntary basis,in the creation of Standard Operating Procedures for a company embarking on skydiving operations in Mauritius.These SOP's were accepted by the Mauritian DCA with no changes or amendments.

As a pilot in Comair I was subject the the Aviation Regulations pertaining to commercial flight operations in South Africa,Namibia,Zimbabwe,Swaziland and Mozambique.I was expected to keep myself up to date with the latest changes by way of a good working knowledge of the latest AIC's and NOTAM's.

Being a training captain entailed the education of new pilots in the above regulations as well as assessment of their knowledge in these subjects,et al.

As a pilot at 21 Squadron I was involved in flying VIP's to destinations inside South Africa as well as various overseas destinations.

In order to carry out these duties I was required to attend various courses which dealt with the technical as well as regulatory aspects of flying in RVSM airspace as well as NAT MNPS procedures.

During my tour of duty at 27 Squadron I was appointed as Flying Safety Office(FSO),over and above my normal flying duties.

My main function as FSO was to assist in maintaining safe flying practices and as such,operating in accordance with existing Air Force as well as National Legislation.

I also embarked on a Quality Assurance and Safety Programme for my unit which resulted in a four year period of accident and incident free flying.

As Flying Instructor I was involved in ab initio as well as advanced flying training in the SAAF.

This involved ground lectures in various aviation related aspects including Air Law.

I was also the Flying Safety Officer for the School and as such I was responsible for investigating breaches in procedures and accident/incident investigation as well as making recommendations to avoid further incidents of the same nature.

During my tour of duty as FSO I investigated several aircraft accidents and incidents where the recommendations I made were incorporated into Standard Operating Procedures.These changes resulted in a total cessation of further incidents/accidents of this nature.

During my tour at 5 Squadron I was engaged in training on and operating fast jets in wartime operations

This period consisted of my training as a pilot in the South African Air Force.