Nigeria again scales US highest safety audit

• America conveys letter to Minister, NCAA

Nigeria has again scaled the United States highest aviation safety hurdle, aviation category one status.

The US apex aviation regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had visited Nigeria late last year to carry out audit on the country’s aviation and to see if the nation had closed all gaps it noticed when the team visited.

A top official in the Ministry of Transportation confirmed to wole shadare news under condition of anonymity that the good news had since been conveyed to Nigeria by the FAA in a letter addressed to the government.

Spokesman for Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Sam Adurogboye also disclosed that Nigeria scaled the hurdle.

The NCAA before the full audit commenced August 2017, carried out a ‘Dry Run’ on one of the Nigerian carriers.

The Dry Run is akin to a mock exercise on the carrier of which New Telegraph learnt that the airline’s performance was okay and being a carrier that may venture into the United States, the mock exercise on Med-view was apt and welcome to both CAA and airline.

The main assessment began as the four-member team from the FAA have arrived Nigeria to conduct the audit which took place from 21st – 25th August, 2017.

The members team were team leader, Louis A. Alvarez, Operation specialist, L.P. Vanstory; Airworthiness Specialist, Benjamin Garrido, and Attorney Jeffrey Klang and all arrived the country to assess the State’s aviation law, regulations and oversight capability in accordance with the eight critical elements as defined in ICAO 9734.

Under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, the FAA determines whether another country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the U.S., or codeshare with a U.S. air carrier, complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

IASA assessments determine compliance with these international Standards by focusing on the eight critical elements of an effective aviation safety oversight authority specified in ICAO Document 9734, Safety Oversight Manual.

The eight critical elements include (I) primary aviation legislation; (ii) specific operating regulations; (iii) State civil aviation system and safety oversight functions; (iv.) technical personnel qualification and training; (v.) technical guidance, tools and the provision of safety critical information; (vi.) licensing, certification, authorization, and approval obligations; (vii.) surveillance obligations; and (viii.) resolution of safety concerns.

In addition, during the assessment, the team will need to visit the facilities of an Airline Operators Certificate (AOC) holder. They will look at the operations and maintenance organisations.

An IASA Cat 1 status simply means Nigeria now complies with the international air safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is the United Nation’s technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.

It also means Nigeria now has the laws and regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with ICAO rules.

The Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Mukhar Usman who played host to the auditors before the commencement of the audit expressed optimism that the country would once again scale the hurdle, stressing that the regulatory agency was prepared to retain the Category One Status it attained in 2010.

There are eight critical elements required to be fulfilled before a country can scale the FAA audit.

The eight critical elements are: legislation, regulations, organisations, technical staff, technical guidance tools, licensing, continuous surveillance and resolution of safety concerns.

Each country, under the International Convention on Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), is responsible for the safety oversight of its own air carriers. Other countries can only conduct specific surveillance activities, principally involving inspection of required documents and the physical condition of aircraft.

The US-FAA conducts the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA), assessing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of each country that has carriers operating to the United States. Because of the provisions of the Chicago Convention and national sovereignty, FAA is not permitted to evaluate a foreign carrier within its own sovereign state.

In 2010, Nigeria overwhelmed the international community when it scored over 93 per cent, a performance described as one of the highest at that time.

Wole Shadare