Precision Air

Precision Air Services Plc (operating as Precision Air; DSE:PAL) is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.[4] The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi and Comoros; and to various airports and airstrips in Tanzania.[5] Kenya Airways owns 41.23% of the airline, and is a component company of the Tanzania All Share Index.

It is currently banned from flying into the EU[6]

History

Precision Air was incorporated in Tanzania in January 1991 as a private airline and started operations in 1993. At first, it operated as a private charter air transport company but in November 1993 changed to offer scheduled services to serve the growing tourist market.[7]

Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network Precision Air has had seven accidents or incidents.[37] One of those caused 19 fatalities.[38]

26 July 1999: A Let L-410UVP-E9, tail number 5H-PAB, made a belly landing at Arusha Airport on a training flight while doing a touch and go landing. The two crew and three passengers were not injured.[39]

16 November 2004: A Let L-410UVP-E20, tail number 5H-PAC, crash landed while on a training flight at Kilimanjaro Airport. The two pilots, who had not put on their shoulder straps, sustained facial injuries.[40]

8 July 2007: An ATR 72–212, tail number 5H-PAR, had a runway excursion on landing at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport runway 06. It veered to the right, went over a ditch, and came to a stop on Taxiway F. The nose wheel collapsed. The four crew and 62 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The probable cause of this accident was power asymmetry during application of reverse thrust on landing. The control levers were jammed in one position.[41]

On 13 December 2013, an ATR 42–600 (5H–PWI) made a safe landing at Arusha Airport after its four tires deflated upon landing. All 37 passengers and 4 crew were safe. The airline subsequently explained that higher braking forces, necessitated by the aircraft landing with a tailwind, caused the deflations.[42]

10 July 2014: An ATR 72–500, tail number 5H-PWA, was halfway to Dar es Salaam from Mwanza during normal cruise when the number 2 engine seized. This necessitated a diversion to Kilimanjaro International Airport. The aircraft touched down normally; however, after selecting ground idle (as per the captain's explanation), the aircraft veered to the left and exited the runway hitting one of the runway edge lights and proceeded to roll on the grass field parallel to runway 09 for approximately 180 meters before subsequently regaining the runway. No injuries were reported.[43]

9 December 2018 Flight PW 722 with 68 passengers from Nairobi to Mwanza via Kilimanjaro had multiple birdstrikes on approach, including on the wheels that caused difficulties on landing.[44]

6 November 2022: Precision Air Flight 494, an ATR 42-500 (5H-PWF) with 39 passengers and 4 crew crashed in Lake Victoria while landing at Bukoba Airport, Tanzania. There were 19 deaths. It was the first fatal accident in the airline's history.[45] A Ministry of Transport report determined that the pilot attempted to land Bukoba in poor weather, against the advice of the first officer, instead of diverting to Mwanza.[46]

airline	Precision Air
iata	PW
icao	PRF
callsign	PRECISION AIR‡R1R‡
founded	1991
commenced	November 1993
aoc	TCAA/AOC/003
hubs	Dar es Salaam
secondary hubs	Kilimanjaro‡R2R‡
frequent flyer	PAA Royal
fleet size	8
destinations	7
traded as	darse: PAL
headquarters	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
key people	Harry Kitilya (Chairperson) Patrick Mwanri (CEO)
revenue	TSh 162 billion (US$61 million) (FY 2024)‡R3R‡
profit	TSh −32 billion (US$−12 million) (FY 2024)‡R3R‡
num employees	413 (2024)‡R3R‡
website	www.precisionairtz.com

History

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Business trends

Destinations

Partnerships

Codeshare agreements

Interline agreements

Fleet

Current fleet

Historical fleet

Accidents and incidents

External links

References