In a landmark case an aspiring pilot has been sentenced to three years in jail for contravening civil aviation regulations.
In a landmark case an aspiring pilot has been sentenced to three years in jail for contravening civil aviation regulations.
In what the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said is the first case of its kind, Nedson Likhunya was also sentenced to one year on a charge of forgery.
Nedson Likhunya was convicted of forgery after he used Soponuchi Amadi’s private pilot’s licence number and altered the document by replacing Amadi's photo with his own.
Likhunya's private pilot’s licence will be cancelled in what CAA described as a precedent-setting conviction.
On the second charge, Likhunya was convicted for writing an examination towards a commercial pilot’s licence on behalf of his accomplice Amadi, a private pilot licence holder.
Amadi, pleaded guilty on charges pertaining to the contravention of Part 185.00.1 (d) (i) of the Civil Aviation regulations, by allowing Likhunya to write an examination towards a commercial pilot’s licence on his behalf.
Amadi was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with an alternative of a R10 000 monetary fine.
In a statement released by the CAA, Director Poppy Khoza said the conviction was a major victory against fraudulent behaviour in the civil aviation industry in this country.
