Only 300 out of 1,000 accident reports available, in-exhaustive in Africa-IATA

• Cautions cash-strapped govt. on privatization

Wole Shadare

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has taken a swipe at Africa’s aviation investigative bodies for the shoddy jobs at investigating aircraft accidents, describing it as in-exhaustive.

The Director-General of IATA, Alexandre de Junaic made the disclosure today at the IATA 73^rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cancun, Mexico.

De Junaic however stated that in contrast to the progress made in Africa, “We have taken a step back in air accident investigations. They are mandated by Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention for good reasons.”

To him, every accident represents an opportunity to learn more about making aviation even safer, but lamented that of the 1,000 accidents investigated over the last decade in, reports are available for only 300, and many of these are not exhaustive.

He reiterated that there can be no excuse for a statistic like that, just as he urged governments must do better.

It was not only doom and gloom for the sector in Africa, he commended Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa for realizing an important safety milestone last year as the region recorded no jet hull losses.

This coming as President of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Dr. Bernard Olumuyiwa Aliu expressed his happiness that Nigeria is of Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), adding that ICAO summit on CORSIA would be held in Abuja later this year.

Nigeria became the 70th nation to sign up to the CORSIA climate change scheme. CORSIA takes us a giant step forward in meeting IATA sustainability commitments, particularly carbon-neutral growth from 2020. Although it will be voluntary until 2026, already 75 states are on board. Together they represent at least 80 per cent of anticipated growth. More countries are encouraged to join.

He stated that extending this great performance into the long term would be a challenge, just as he tasked carriers to continue the commitment to the IOSA discipline.

Nigeria’s aviation safety had been relatively good with good safety oversight by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The last accident that the country’s airline was involved in a hull loss was in 2013 when a plane carrying the remains of former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Dr. Segun Agagu crashed shortly after take-off at the Lagos airport.

This was nearly two years after the country witnessed deadliest plane crash involving Dana Air that crashed in Iju Ishaga shortly before landing.

He stated that governments must continue to raise their levels of adherence to the global standards of the ICAO.

A hull loss is an aviation accident that damages the aircraft beyond economical repair, resulting in a write-off. The term also applies to situations when the aircraft is missing, the search for its wreckage is terminated or when the wreckage is completely inaccessible.

The IATA DG’s statement was a true reflection of slow work of accident reports, with many of them gathering dust on the shelf.

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) in March 2017 released the final report of the accident of Dana plane crash that killed 153 passengers and crew in Lagos suburb that happened five years ago.

Also released were three other accident reports bringing the number of accident reports released by the agency to four.

One of them was the reports on OAS Helicopters (Nig.) Limited, which sad accident occurred at  Oke-Oba Hill, Ikonifin, Osun State, on 29th July, 2011. The other reports were those of Bristow Helicopters that crashed in 2013 inside the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

The final report released was that which involved presidential implementation Committee on maritime safety and security with the registration number 5N-BKS that occurred at Benin Airport, Edo State on July  15, 2012.

The IATA chief cautioned many cash-strapped governments not to see privatisation as the solution for infrastructure funding.

His words, “They should be cautious. Privatization has failed to deliver promised benefits in many countries—India, Brazil, France, and Australia to name just a few. The concessionaire makes money. The government gets its cut. The airlines pay the bill—usually a big one. And passengers and the local economy suffer the results of higher costs”.

He explained that when governments privatize critical infrastructure, economic regulation is essential, saying, “To date, I cannot name a single success story. Finding the solution is an important piece of work that needs government and industry collaboration. It’s the only way to balance the investor’s need for profit with the community’s need for cost efficient connectivity.

Speaking of the need for balanced solutions, de Junaic referred to Heathrow, saying, “We’ve waited decades for a third runway. The UK Government has finally committed to build it. But the GBP 17 billion price tag is an outrageously expensive bill that we are not prepared to pay.”

Wole Shadare