NCAA audits Air Peace’s plane fleet over recurring incidents

• Passengers express worry

 Concerned about the recurring incidents involving Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Air Peace, the aviation regulatory body, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced audit of the airline.

The public has also expressed worry over frequent incidents associated with the airline in recent times. They stated that this could erode passengers’ confidence in air travel.

Air Peace had been involved in three serious incidents in less than six months which followed almost the same pattern.

Spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye in a statement said last week Tuesday,  at about 10.28 am an Air Peace B737-300 aircraft with Registration Marks 5N- BQO had an incident on landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Adurogboye noted that Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) was currently carrying out an in-depth investigation into the incident to determine the immediate and remote causes responsible for this particular incident as required by International Standards stipulated in International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13.

Adurogboye disclosed that the authority awaits the conclusion and report of the AIB.

In the meantime, the NCAA has just completed a thorough technical audit of the airline and its fleet of aircraft with a view to ensuring the airline is in compliance with extant Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), and to mitigate the re-occurrence of the incident.

This technical audit, he reiterated was not limited to this recent incident. The airline operational, technical and safety performance in the last twelve months were also scrutinised.

It revealed that all the operational aircraft on the fleet of Air Peace Limited are airworthy.

“This is to assure the flying public that all the aircraft on the fleet of NCAA authorised Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holders operating in Nigeria are airworthy”, he added.

He noted that the Authority shall continue to ensure only airworthy aircraft are permitted to operate.

Some of the 133 passengers and six crew members were left injured when Air Peace’s B737-500 with registration number 5N-BQO crash landed on the runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Tuesday’s incident was one out of the many incidents involving the airline in the last six months raising concern about air safety in the country’s aviation industry.

The aircraft on landing on 18R veered off the runway and lost its nose wheel.

The crew notified the airport authorities who quickly ensured the safe disembarkation of the passengers via the passenger door”, the airline added.

Air Peace assured of their commitment to the safety of their passengers at all time.

A day after Air Peace’s incident, Medview Airline’s aircraft B737-500 was involved in depressurisation problem.

A statement from Medview Airlines Chief Operating Officer (COO), Michael Ajigbotosho said the aircraft Flight VL2105 was on its way to Lagos about 15.10 pm on Wednesday when the captain noticed a warning sign of cabin depressurisation while descending from 32, 000 feet altitude.

He explained that the Captain called for priority landing because he had been on number seven on queue for landing in sequence.

 His words, “The pilot was obliged and he made a safe landing, and the passengers were calm as it did not pose a serious danger.

The pilot, he said, was making announcement as the plane started descending rapidly and oxygen masks started dropping from the compartment at the roof of the airplane.

Wole Shadare