In April 2019, The Wicks Group (TWG) was hired by the Government of Angola to perform a Baseline Assessment of the Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil (INAVIC) of Angola's safety oversight systems that would assist the Government of Angola in its efforts to obtain the FAA Category 1 safety rating needed for TAAG Angola Airlines (TAAG-SA) to launch direct flights between Angola and the United States.
The Wicks Group’s baseline assessment will provide the Government of Angola with the readily actionable timeline and resource requirements necessary to achieve FAA Category 1 status in the near future.During the baseline assessment, TWG will evaluate INAVIC’s compliance with international aviation safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and provide INAVIC with a report of findings and recommendations. TWG will also conduct site visits of TAAG-SA, SonAir and other Angolan air carriers to assess safety oversight of the carriers.
Beyond providing INAVIC with an expert technical review of its personnel licensing, aircraft operations and airworthiness oversight practices, TWG will also present INAVIC with a work plan for implementing, with TWG’s technical assistance, corrective actions to resolve any identified compliance gaps. This will further support INAVIC’s efforts to achieve an FAA Category 1 rating for Angola and TAAG-SA’s plans to initiate direct flights from Angola to the United States in the near future.