The Rot in Aviation
By Emmanuel Uffot
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The recent case of a missing aircraft exposes the inadequacies of the Nigerian aviation industry
The rot in the Nigerian aviation industry manifested again last week when the aeronautical search and rescue team of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, failed to locate the wreckage of the Beecraft 1900D aircraft several days after it was reported missing on Saturday March 15.
The ill-fated charter plane with registration number 5N-JAH belonging to Wings Aviation Limited had departed Lagos on March 15 at 7.35 a.m en-route Bebi airstrip in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State to pick Governor Liyel Imoke.
But the control tower at Enugu airport reported it lost contact with it at 8.05 a.m. By Thursday March 20, six days after it was reported missing there was still no news about it.
The non-discovery of the missing plane was not the only embarrassing aspect of the entire saga. A day after the plane was declared missing, both the minister for air transportation, Felix Hyat, and the NCAA had announced that the wreckage of the plane had been found in Ibagu village in Yalla Local Government Area of Cross River State. The announcement was given prominence in the nation's major newspapers on Monday March 17, before Harold Demuren, director-general, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, recanted the story.
The misinformation began on Sunday evening, a day after the plane was declared missing. The NCAA had issued a statement that the wreckage of the missing Beecraft 1900D had been found that Sunday evening stating the location. This was again confirmed to journalists same day by the minister.
But on Monday, March 17, Nigerians were shocked when another statement signed by the DG of NCAA said contrary to the earlier report, the missing plane was yet to be found. By then the harm was already done since many newspapers were already awash with the story that the plane had been found with all the three crew on board confirmed dead.
The shoddy handling of information on an incident of such magnitude has drawn harsh comments from the public.
Dele Ore, a pilot and aviation consultant described the false information and the inability of the relevant agencies to locate the crash site many days after the crash as sadenning. He condemned the way and manner aeronautical search and rescue operations are carried out in the country. According to him, search and rescue is only on paper and not the way it should be, since in most cases, one does not even know the agency in charge of it. Ore feels what has happened is a reminder that things are not working the way they should be in the sector.
Muhammed Tukur, executive director, Afrijet Airlines and assistant secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, expressed disappointment over the false information given by the authorities that the wreckage of the plane had been seen whereas the contrary was the case. Tukur wants all those responsible for feeding the minister and Nigerians with the false information to either resign or be sacked because they are not useful to the industry.
The senate on Tuesday, March 19, condemned the inability of the relevant government agencies to locate the missing aircraft several days after it got missing and also the false information dished out to Nigerians. While describing it as embarrassing and a disgrace to the nation, they would rather see that those saddled with responsibilities but who have failed to acquit themselves be sanctioned if they refuse to chose the part of honour by resigning.
David Mark, senate president advised those found wanting not to wait to be sacked but should resign honourably. "That for four days we don't know what has happened to the aircraft is a shame and an embarrassment to this nation. In a serious country, somebody from the aviation industry should have thrown in the towel."
Newswatch gathered that NCAA and Air Transport Ministry are at each other's throat over who should take blame for the false information which prompted the minister to apologise to Nigerians. The minister was angered by the fact that he was made to commit the blunder by believing that having been furnished with the information by those who are in charge of search and rescue, he had no cause to doubt its authenticity.
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, which is responsible for search and rescue had informed NCAA that the plane wreckage had been found in Igabu village in Yalla Local Government. The story is that some villagers had reported to the chairman of the Local Government that they saw the aircraft and the chairman had reported to the governor who also told NEMA in Abuja. However, the agency without sending its officials to verify the information immediately forwarded it to NCAA and then the minister.
In doing that, the agency wanted to score a point that it was able to locate the site of the crash within a short period of time. But with the turn of events, some stakeholders see it as a manifestation of the inefficiency of the agency. But Smart Adeyemi, chairman senate committee on NEMA would rather blame its inability to carry out its function well to poor funding. According to Adeyemi, facilities for emergency search and rescue should be put in place before the agency is accused of not performing well. He said people should be bold to take responsibility when they err.
When Newswatch sought clarification on the safety profile of the 19-seater aircraft and any information on the missing plane, Sam Adurogboye, media assistant to the director-general of NCAA said it was premature to talk about the airworthiness of the aircraft when it was yet to be found. He said the issue of aircraft safety should not raise much concern given the strict safety measures put in place by the regulatory authority in recent years. Adurogboye believes there was no way the aircraft would be given clearance to fly if it did not meet safety standard.
But an official of NAMA who refused to be named frowned at a situation whereby the regulatory authorities only focus attention on commercial aircraft, leaving the private operators. He said this does not augur well for the industry since the private airlines operating charter services may capitalise on the laxity of safety measures on their operations to cut corners.
The inability of NEMA and other relevant agencies to locate the aircraft many days after it was declared missing has reinforced the need for effective radar coverage of Nigerian airspace. In 2003, contract for the procurement and installation of Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria, TRACON, in the four major international airports in the country was awarded. The thinking within the industry is that if this equipment was in place, it would have reduced the man hours wasted in the current search for the plane since the radar would have tracked the area the plane fell.
Ado Sanusi, managing director of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, told Newswatch that if the TRACON was in place it would have surely reduced the stress of combing everywhere in search of the plane. Sanusi explained that Total Radar Coverage is like a close circuit television watching the Nigerian airspace. He regretted that the project, which started in 2003 was not completed. The project was abandoned for 15 months before Sanusi who himself is a pilot assumed duty as MD of NAMA in 2006 to resurrect the project. Although he declined comments on why the project was abandoned, he said when he came in, the project was reviewed to ascertain how much government had committed to it already. Already 29 million Euros is said to have been expended on the project whose cost is put at 66.5 million Euros.
One major challenge facing the project is that unlike other equipment a radar is not bought on the shelf but on request made to manufacturers who would build to specifications. This could take up to 10 months. The project has in recent years come under intense scrutiny. In spite of the huge sums of money pumped into upgrading facilities at the airports no significant development is seen.
The search for the missing aircraft by a combined team of aviation agencies with the support of the Cross River State Government continued uptil last Thursday with hunters and their dogs joining in the search. Last Wednesday the Cross River State Government offered to pay a N45 million reward to anyone who finds the missing aircraft.
The airline gave the names of the crew members as, Augustine Egbedi, pilot, A. Tanko, co-pilot and a cabin crew named Faburata. Before joining Wings Airline, Egbedi had worked with Chanchangi Airlines and flew the BAC-1-11 type aircraft before its ban after the EAS Airline crash of 2001.
The twin turboprop aircraft was manufactured by the Beecraft Division of Raytheon company. It is used commercially as a freight aircraft and for corporate transport. It is designed to carry passengers in all weather conditions from airports with short runways for distances less than 600 miles. The aircraft had an Air Operators Certificate, AOC, which only allows it to operate charter services. Jude Omokore, spokesman for the airline maintained that its AOC was intact having been renewed recently by NCAA. Wing Airline began operation in Nigeria eight years ago.
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