Cracks: Nigeria, 100 operators ordered to inspect Boeing 737 NGs

• Minister seeks ICAO’s support on liberalisation

Nigerian carriers may through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), be forced to inspect their B737 Next Generation (NG) airplanes after ‘cracking issues’ were discovered on some of the manufacturer’s planes.
Already, more than 100 operators of Boeing’s 737 Next Generation (NG) will need to inspect the aircraft after.
The Boeing 737 Next Generation commonly abbreviated as 737NG or 737 Next Gen jet airliners are narrow-body aircraft powered by two engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it is produced since 1996 and is an upgrade of the 737 Classic (−300/-400/-500) series.
Over 80 per cent of Nigerian airline operators operate the B737 classic while very few like Arik, Medview Azman and Max Air operate the NG airplanes, which are upgrade of the older planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the inspections after Boeing warned the US regulator that issues had been uncovered during modifications on heavily used aircraft.
Cracks were found in the pickle-fork area of some planes, where the wings meet the body of the aircraft.

The FAA said it was instructing all operators of the aircraft to conduct specific inspections and make any repairs in addition to reporting their findings.
In total, 117 airlines use the 737 NG, including the likes of Spice Jet and EgyptAir.
It is unclear how many of Boeing’s aircraft will be inspected but the company confirmed to the BBC that it will work with airlines to “implement a recommended inspection plan”.

In a statement, the FAA said that that subsequent inspections uncovered “similar cracks in a small number of additional planes.”
The ‘cracking issues’ do not affect 737 Max or P-8 Poseidon planes, according to reports.
The 737 Max has been grounded since March, as investigators evaluate its safety following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which claimed 346 lives.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to continue to encourage and support regional liberalisation efforts of states, as they could be used as incentives to achieving global multilateral agreement on liberalization of market access.
Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, made the call at the 40thAssembly of ICAO in Montreal, Canada at the weekend.

He disclosed that Nigeria’s efforts on liberalisation had led to significant increase in the operations of foreign and domestic airlines and utilization of our airports, resulting in an annual traffic growth of over eight percent, stressing, “our determination is to make Nigeria the hub of the West African sub-region, and make air travel the preferred mode of transportation especially with a population of over 180million and a large land mass.”
He stated that in the area of safety, Nigeria within the last three years had continued to work towards sustaining the successes achieved in the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s International Aviation Safety Assessment Category 1 Rating, through the strengthening of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to keep regulating aviation safety without political interference.

His words: “Additionally, Nigeria has continued to collaborate with ICAO and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), to promote safety in our sub-region by actively supporting the implementation of the Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (AFI Plan) and the hosting and substantial funding of the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organization (BAGASOO), a regional safety organization, which has its headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory.”

Wole Shadare