The recurring aircraft incidents involving local airlines have been generating global safety concerns. Apart from the dip in the confidence of the flying public, industry watchers say the time was ripe for the government to beam its searchlight on the operational competence of local airlines and their personnel, reports KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR. THERE is discontentmentRead More
The post Discontent over rise in aircraft incidents appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.
The recurring aircraft incidents involving local airlines have been generating global safety concerns. Apart from the dip in the confidence of the flying public, industry watchers say the time was ripe for the government to beam its searchlight on the operational competence of local airlines and their personnel, reports KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR.
THERE is discontentment in the aviation sector. This arose from the spate of air incidents in the last few months.
Industry watchers warn the frequent incidents, if not checked, could erode public confidence over the integrity of the local aviation sector and safety aboard the aircraft flying in the Nigerian airspace.
In the recent past, no fewer than three local operators – DANA Air, Delta Airlines and Arik Air – have been in the news for the wrong reasons.
From exit door falling off the aircraft on landing to runway overshoot after runway contamination, DANA Air has been atop on the list of incidents.
The development has called to question the quality of civil aviation regulations in the country as experts believe some operators may not be doing enough to make the airspace free for air travellers.
There have been complaints of inclement operational environment by some operators. They cited huge offshore cost of maintaining their aircraft, prohibitive cost of aircraft spare parts and other associated charges as some of the challenges in the aviation business.
The experts warn of the consequences of compromising standards by the operators to remain in business.
The worrisome development is raising concerns over the relationship between costs and the safety of airline operations, notwithstanding the fact that Nigeria has retained its United States Federal Aviation Administration (USFAA) Category One safety certification for the third time.
Experts and regulators disagree over the health of the aviation sector. Experts say the attainment and retention of Category One cannot be enough evidence that airlines and aircraft safety are on the same page. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) believes the rising incidents involving aircraft is not enough to conclude that safety standards have been compromised or lowered for local operators.
NCAA spokesman Sam Adurogboye told The Nation that the reported cases of aircraft making air return cannot be translated as compromise in air safety.
According to him, air return by airlines is not strange to global aviation, as therefore should not a thing to worry about in Nigeria.
DANA aircraft’s falling door
The door of a plane on the fleet of DANA Air reportedly fell off when the MD 83 aircraft landed in Abuja on February 7, 2018, thus raising global concerns on aviation safety in the country.
The passengers aboard the aircraft were fear-gripped when one of the emergency doors fell off on landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Some of the passengers, including a doctor, Dr. Ola Brown, said the aircraft was noisy throughout the flight.
But, the airline’s Corporate Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa said the door could not have fallen off without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it, assuring that the airline was investigating the incident.
He said: “We wish to state categorically that this could never have happened without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it. By design, the emergency exit door of our aircraft is plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or conscious effort to open it by either a crew member or passenger.
“When an aircraft is airborne, it is fully pressurised and there was no way the seat or door could have been ‘shaking’ as insinuated. A thorough inspection was, however, carried out on the said aircraft upon landing in Abuja, by our engineers and a team from the NCAA, and no issue was reported. There was also no threat to safety at any point.
“The flight was only delayed for eight minutes as we needed to demonstrate to the regulators that the safety and comfort of our guests (passengers) are at the centre of our operations.
“We wish to apologise to our guests for any inconvenience such report may have caused and for the slight delay on the return service to Lagos. A thorough investigation of the concerned passenger is ongoing.”
The NCAA Director-General, Captain Muhtar Usman, said the authority has commenced an investigation into the incident.
Usman said: “We have commenced an investigation into the incident. It is through investigation that we will know what actually happened and to prevent such from happening again in the future. We have sent four inspectors to the airline to investigate what happened.”
A pilot , who pleaded for anonymity, said the door could open without anybody fiddling with it, saying this is known as a component failure but dismissed the possibility of the emergency door falling off while the aircraft is airborne.
According to him, the fall might have been caused by a hard landing.
“What happened is likely to be a component failure due to a hard landing. It couldn’t have fallen off when the aircraft was airborne because the aircraft cabin is pressurised. It is very difficult for that to happen but it could fall off when the aircraft is on the ground,” the pilot said.
Adurogboye said the aircraft had since been cleared to return to the air.
“I want to confirm that the authority’s inspectors have certified and cleared the DANA Airlines incident plane to return to service. This came about after due repairs were carried out and it was certified fit for further operations,” he said.
Aircraft overshooting runway in Port Harcourt
On February 20, DANA Air was in the news again as one of its planes overshot the runway on landing at the Port Harcourt Airport. The aircraft took off from Abuja en route Port Harcourt.
CPC’s intervention
The DANA Air Port Harcourt incident triggered global safety concerns. The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) called for calm in the handling of the safety matter. It said relevant aviation agencies have launched probe into the matter.
CPC Director-General Babatunde Irukera said the airline had to option but await detailed investigation into the serious incidents.
Irukera said : “The CPC understands that Dana Air has provided logistic support and accommodation to passengers. The Council insists this must comply with minimum standards in accordance with prevailing Regulations under Part 19, Nigerian Civil Aviation Rules (NCAR).
“An open, transparent, sensitive and responsive approach by the airline and relevant authorities is vital to sustaining confidence and assuring consumers. The Council welcomes this openness and attention to consumers, including providing medical or psychological support where necessary.
“The CPC, in collaboration with the NCAA, other aviation agencies and service providers, remains available to all passengers in the sector to answer questions, provide assistance and required assurances at this and other times.”
Delta Airlines aircraft’s engine fire
Besides local airlines, aircraft belong to foreign carriers including Delta Airlines have also been involved in serious incidents.
On February 13, 2018 an Airbus 330-200 aircraft carrying over 200 passengers developed an engine problem about one hour after take-off from the Lagos Airport.
The pilot, sensing that the aircraft engine has caught fire, initiated emergency landing and made an air return to the Lagos Airport.
Though no casualty was recorded, some of the evacuated passengers sustained injuries.
The aircraft blocked a section of the runway before it was towed by Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) officials.
It was the first time a Delta Airlines aircraft would be involved in an incident in Nigeria, its crew committed serious infraction by not reporting the incident to the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
The AIB, according to its Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner Akin Olateru, said the crew of Delta Airlines had to be detained to give incident statement before they could leave Nigeria.
Olateru said technical officials of the affected airline were not allowed to carry out any repairs on the aircraft engine until statutory requirements were complied with.
Preliminary incident reports
Only last week, the AIB released three incident reports on DANA Air and Delta Airlines aircraft.
Olateru said timely release of the preliminary incident report was evidence of the bureau’s commitment to safety.
He said: “We are seriously committed to releasing investigation reports on time. This is one way to ensure that such occurrences are prevented from repeating themselves and conform with the purpose of accident investigation.”
The AIB report on Delta Airlines said: “The aircraft landed on runway 18R, where the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service first reported observing smoke, and fire on the Number One engine.
“AIB also reported that there was evidence of fire within the engine cowling even as the two fire extinguishers on the engine were discharged.
“A commotion was reported onboard the aircraft before the evacuation. Investigation is still ongoing and further investigative actions may include engine examination, material testing for the fuel manifolds, engine oil and hydraulic lines, inspection of fuel manifolds for crack and inspection of fuel nozzle braze joints for leaks.”
On Dana Air MD-83, the report reads: “The crew reported that the runway had experienced recent rain before arrival and after touch down looked and felt contaminated with flood of water that did not drain well.
“Other findings include the fact that after the aircraft came to a complete stop, emergency evacuation was carried out using only the left forward main door and the escape slide on this door did not deploy just as the Public Address System did not work.
“The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service arrived during the evacuation and all persons onboard were evacuated unhurt.”
Government orders probe
The Federal Government last week ordered a comprehensive audit of Dana Airline. The decision followed a report received from the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over incidences of mishaps recorded by the airline.
The minister said tragedy was averted last month when a Dana aircraft numbered 9J0363, flying from Abuja to Port Harcourt crash-landed at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said the council dedicated quality time to the discussion of air safety in the country.
According to him, the government remained concerned about the safety of air passengers and the life of Nigerians.
He said: “A lot of quality time was spent discussing air safety. The government of Nigeria is very much concerned about safety and the life of Nigerians. This is following the recent air incidents.
The comprehensive audit of the airline will include personnel, operations and its technical capacity.
Shehu said that as minor as they were because there were no fatalities, the government felt concerned and the minister reported the steps taken so far to the council.
He said: “Consequently, as announced by the aviation authorities, the engineer and pilot of that particular aircraft got their licences both suspended and beyond that, the government has ordered a complete audit of Dana airlines in terms of personnel, operations, technical capacity and others.”
Previous probe
Besides DANA Air, the NCAA in 2005, was directed to withdraw the certificates issued to airlines pending the conclusion of the ongoing audit of airline operators.
The directive was given by Mrs. Folashade Odutola, an aeronautical engineer, who was Head, Task Force on Verification of Air Worthiness Status and Operational Competence of commercial aircraft in the country.
The task force was given the mandate to probe domestic carriers alleged to have been involved in sharp practices.
Legislative concerns over safety
Last week, the House of Representatives mandated its Committees on Aviation and Commerce to investigate as well as carry out critical audit of all registered aircraft flying in the Nigerian airspace.
The Committees, the House said, will also evaluate the operational environment of the aviation sub-sector with a view to enhancing improved operational standards and convenience of users.
The investigation has a mandate to ascertain the air-worthiness of the planes and compliance with applicable operational methods, set safety standards and procedures.
The resolution was sequel to a motion entitled: “Need to Establish the Technical and Operational Status of Nigerian Registered Commercial/Private Aircrafts to Boost the Safety, Protection and Confidence of Passengers Flying the Nigerian Airspace.”
The motion was sponsored by Abubakar Amuda-Kannike (Kwara State). Amuda-Kannike alleged the existence of a high degree of complicity between airline operators in Nigeria and the regulatory bodies charged with the safety of the airspace and passengers.
According to him, the unhealthy development had compromised the system which needed to be investigated.
Smoke in Arik Air cabin
Troubled Arik Air joined the fray on March 6, 2018 when smoke was detected in the cabin of its Dash 8 Q400 aircraft that was on flight W3 304 from Lagos to Accra. The discovery forced the pilot to declare an emergency, 81 nautical miles to the airport of disembarkation.
The airlines’ Public Relations and Communications Manager Adebanji Ola said the safety measure taken by the pilot was in line with standard operating procedures.
Ola said the captain of the flight briefed the passengers accordingly assuring them that the aircraft was under control and safe for landing in Accra.
The aircraft, he said, landed safely in Accra without further incident and all passengers disembarked normally.
He said: “The aircraft is currently parked in Acrra and our team of engineers are conducting comprehensive inspections on the aircraft to ascertain the cause of the smoke, after which the aircraft will be flown without passengers to a maintenance facility for rectification and testing. The relevant aviation authorities in Ghana and Nigeria have been briefed appropriately on the incident.”
AIB’s position
But, the AIB has frowned at the sloppiness of Arik Air in not reporting the seroius incident to relevant aeronautical authorities.
The AIB Chief Executive Officer, Akin Olateru, said such infraction by Arik Air violated the provisions of Annex 13 of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Olateru said: “AIB sincerely wishes to acknowledge and thank the concerned passenger(s) that reported the occurrence on social media, for being socially conscious citizen(s), and assure him/them and the flying public alike, that the institutions lawfully charged with the responsibility of investigating accidents and serious incidents by both countries (Nigeria and Ghana) are already conducting investigation on this serious incident, in accordance with strict ICAO Annex 13 on accident and serious investigation.
“Air accidents and serious incidents are not peculiar to Nigeria or Africa only. Accidents happen in the world over; however, when they do occur, it is the responsibility of the relevant agencies like AIB, saddled by law with investigation responsibility which ensures that they carry out the specialised thorough investigations and come up with timely reports that engender and enable learning from mistakes; in order to forestall future occurrences.
Thus, improving safety across the broad spectrum of the aviation sector and all, for the common good of the public is the responsibility of the regulator.
“As a well-informed society, the AIB appreciates the contribution of Nigerians working as responsible partners to ensure accidents are promptly reported and investigated.”
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