WHO IS WATCHING THE AVIATION STORE FRONT

In as much as Nigeria, has passed the ICAO audit and attained FAA category-one status, The recent developments in the aviation sector have been quite alarming.

A Boeing 747 aircraft belonging to MAX Air on the 15^th of September 2015 conveying 545 Kebbi State pilgrims from the Sir Ahmadu Bello Saudauna International Airport in Birni Kebbi to Jedda, Saudi Arabia developed technical problems after three aborted takeoff attempts.  An eye witness alleged that the pilot informed them that one of the engines developed a mechanical problem.

This is coming on the heels of the Nigerian Air force aircraft crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff en route to Abuja from the Air Force Base in Kaduna killing all the passengers, including the flight crew.

Recently, four passengers died when a Bristow Helicopter chopper crashed into the Lagos lagoon, several others sustained varying degrees of injury. The chopper was said to have been returning from a routine flight from an oil rig.

Tragedy was averted at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA 2) in Lagos, following a ground collision of two aircraft belonging to First Nation airlines; this was preceded by a similar incident at the same airport with the collision of an Emirates aircraft and a HAK airplane conveying no fewer than two hundred and fifty passengers on board.

The two airplanes had their bodies partially damaged as a result of the collision. It was alleged that one of the pilots may have been misdirected by the air marshals, who directed one of the pilots to the wrong section of the apron.

Reports of adulteration or substitution of aviation fuel with kerosene have also surfaced, although both fuels are closely related, Aviation experts have cautioned against the adverse effect of kerosene on aircraft engines, causing it to malfunction and ultimately endangering the lives of the passengers. 

The regulatory bodies in the aviation sector, especially the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) whose primary role is to ensure continuous improvement and regulation of the country’s aviation sector needs to be alive to its responsibilities, not just resorting to issuing official statements, trying to allay the fears of the passangers.

The Accident Investigation Bureau should not only investigate these air crashes but open up its processes to public scrutiny to ensure that all interested parties are availed of the opportunity to express their view points. In order to ensure that safety deficiencies when identified are immediately corrected.

There is a need for the AIB to make annual presentations of its activities to the National Assembly, So that adequate enabling laws can be put in place to strengthen its regulatory functions.

There is a need for the government to provide adequate funding for the AIB for capacity development and training or skilled manpower, technological enhancement, and provision of all required infrastructure, for it to ensure safety recommendations are implemented after its investigations have been carried out.

The AIB should at the end of its investigations provide its report and present its findings and proposed safety recommendations to the appropriate regulatory bodies for implementation to prevent future occurrences.

The operation of ageing aircraft in the Nigerian airspace calls to question the safety of these planes. A number of these aircrafts are due to be retired. Regardless of the often repeated opinion that the life span of an aircraft is not too important as long as if is properly maintained.

The airworthiness of these aircrafts are called to question, when the “Nigerian Factor” is brought to bear on poor maintenance culture of the operators in the sector and the lack of maintenance facilitates in the country. Around the world, there have been a number of aircraft accidents relating to the age of the aircraft, due to fatigue and other factors.

In 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria disbursed N233.1Bn out of the N300Bn. Power and Aviation intervention fund to 34 Power and Airline companies. According to a report by the Development Finance Department of the CBN, a total of N177.4 Bn has been released to fifteen airline projects. The impact of this intervention by government through the CBN is yet to produce the desired expected results in the sector.

The country is littered with uncompleted and in some cases abandoned airport remodeling projects, which were originally designed to upgrade and reconfigure the airport facilities. There is need for the present government to re-engage the contractors to quickly remobilize to sites and deliver these projects in record time.

At the Port Harcourt International Airports passengers have to go through the harrowing process of arrivals in temporary canopies, several years after the remodeling of this airport commenced. This to me is quiet tragic and unacceptable. 

As the call for diversification of the economy rings through the country, and agriculture is been touted as the next BIG THING, there is a need to provide modern state of the art storage facilities at specific designated airport to accommodate perishable agricultural products intended for the export market.

Air Travel cannot remain out of the reach or the working class. Dubai in 2001, ranked 99^th in international air travel, whereas today it ranks as the first hub in air travel.

There is a pressing need for the government to convene a round table of all aviation stakeholders to fashion out modalities and policies to fast track the sector to first world status, this I believe is possible, government should also appoint a thorough bred professional either local or from the diaspora with requisite technical competence to steer the sector.