ASECNA arrives Wednesday, begins calibration Thursday

• Certification delays use of $8.5 million calibration aircraft

The delay in the certification of the newly acquired $8.5 million calibration aircraft may have delayed the deployment of the equipment for calibration of navigational aids across the country.

This is coming as pressure mounts on the Federal Government through the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for allowing the airplane to berain parked many months after purchasing the light airplane.

It is also coming at a time NAMA is faced with crisis occasioned by the diversion of aircraft to neighbouring countries due to delay in calibration of newly acquired Cat 3 Instrument Landing System (ILS).

This follows the inability of the planes to land due to poor visibility occasioned by harmattan haze.

Woleshadarenews learnt that the failure to speed up the registration and certification of the plane in record time for the purpose for which the plane was acquired made government to contact

Meanwhile, Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) are expected in the country tomorrow to begin calibration of many of the newly acquired category 3 ILS and other navigational aids across the country on Thursday January 16, 2020.

The Federal Government and indeed stakeholders had celebrated the high power light equipment because of the cost it would save the nation and urgency of calibrating navigational aids to get accuracy of the safety system rather than rely on external bodies to assist the country to do the six monthly periodic instrument checks.

Announcing the purchase of the aircraft last August, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika,said: “The agony of contracting it to South Africa at about $500,000 every six months is over. Our airspace is safer.

“The purpose of this aircraft is to calibrate our equipment and aids in the country for the purpose of flight operations. We used to have one in Nigeria but for the last two decades, we never had one.”

He added that the procurement of the aircraft was based on the fact that when the Abuja airport runway was being constructed, there was the need recalibrate all the landing aids at the time.

According to him, “this is to ensure they are working in perfect order,” adding that at that time Nigeria did not have the capability as a country.

Since the aircraft was bought, not a few were worried that the airplane had not been put to use especially at a time NAMA was yet to calibrate the newly installed Category 3 Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Lagos airport and other major aerodromes in the country; a situation that has made landing to be difficult even within 800 meter weather minima.

However, NAMA disclosed that arrangements had been concluded for the commencement of flight calibration navigational facilities from January16, 2020. It not clear whether or not the new airplane would be used for the exercise.

A top of official of NAMA, who spoke to Woleshadarenews under a condition of anonymity, said the most important thing was to calibrate the equipment and would not be drawn into the company to be engaged for the exercise expected to begin this week.

Spokesman for NAMA, Mr. Khalid Emene, while countering the position of air traffic controllers on the state of navigational systems in the country, said nothing could be further from the truth.

Emene said: “While we recognise and appreciate the right of our workers to clamour for better work tools and operational environment, the reality is that our navigational infrastructure nationwide is not in any state of degradation.”

He maintained that the navigational facilities were operating optimally but awaiting flight calibration in line with NCAA and International Civil aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations and world best practices.

He explained that the idea behind the installation of CAT III Instrument Landing System in strategic airports in the country was borne out of the need to enhance safety, efficiency, access and seamlessness of flight operations in our airspace especially during the harmattan season.

The prevailing weather condition in Lagos of 1,500m, according to him, is within the approved minimum state weather conditions for Performance Based Navigation (PBN) approach and landing on Runway 18 Right as well as Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach and landing on Runway 18 Left, which is 400m.

President, Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA), Abayomi Agoro, described the situation that led to diversion of British Airways and Air France flights as “unwholesome”.

Wole Shadare