Nigeria’s dream of safer skies

As the number of flights rise, more needs to be done to maintain Nigeria’s excellent aviation safety record. WOLE SHADARE writes on how good safety regulations will keep the nation’s airspace safer

Improved safety record

Although Nigeria has an excellent safety record, it could be improved, especially considering the rapid increase in flights. Over the last four years, flights have increased, a trend facilitated in part by the establishment of the internal market for air transport, and one that looks set to continue in the years to come.

Until recently, there was no comprehensive policy to enhance the nation’s airspace safety. For passengers to be sure that all plans maintain the highest levels of safety the regulatory aviation body, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) increased regulatory oversight even though there are occasional loss of concentration.

The NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) believe that the best way to protect air passengers is to ensure that all airlines are subject to the same levels of safety, subject to standardized safety checks and to ensure that navigational facilities are working optimally.

Drawing up rules

Most safety rules are drawn up by a variety of bodies like NAMA, NCAA. These bodies draw up voluntary rules supplementing those established worldwide by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Since they are produced on the basis of intergovernmental cooperation, these rules are only applicable if the agencies concerned are willing to do so. As a result, there are still considerable differences between the various agencies and unfortunately the highest standards are not always applied. This lack of uniformity also has a negative effect on the internal market. Over the last 14 years, air transport has become one of the safest modes of transport in Nigeria.

Ending the tragedies

The major drive to end air crashes in Nigeria was ignited by the tragic accidents of 2005 and 2006 when the country and the world became fixated by avoidable bloodletting in the air, which many wished would never happen again.

The Sosoliso Flight 1145 in Port Harcourt on December 10, 2005 with 108 fatalities who were mostly children, ADC Airlines Flight 53 in Abuja where prominent Nigerians died on October 29, 2006 with 97 fatalities out of 110 on board and the Bellview Airlines Flight 210 on October 22, 2005, where all 117 souls on board were lost at Lisa, Ogun state of Nigeria.

These tragedies left so much pain in the hearts of Nigerians and cast Nigeria’s airspace as one of the most dangerous in Africa, the continent had the uncomplimentary record of the most accident-prone in the world.

The desire to correct these anomalies prompted the IATA to pick interest in Nigeria. But there is something in Nigeria that may only be found in a few African countries.Nigeria has a population of compulsive travelers. It has the record of the highest number of indigenous travellers, which is a rarity in the continent.

Rising traffic

Although less than one per cent of Nigerians travel by air, the country’s passenger traffic in 2017 rose to little above 15 million and there are indications that this doubled in distant time, the economy improves and enhances the citizens’ purchasing power. So, it was necessary to end the frequent accidents in the country. As a veritable market, the mega carriers from Europe, Middle East and recently from the US could not stay away from Nigeria despite its unsafe airspace then.

Experts in the sector have disclosed that the reason Nigeria has had good safety record over the years is basically because airlines were primarily responsible for safety and intensified their human capital development.

To guarantee safer airspace, NAMA has equally embarked on a massive deployment of navigational facilities in many of the nation’s airports which have boosted economic activities in the areas.

Landing aids

Just last week, the Managing Director of NAMA, Capt. The Akinkuotu said economic activities in the ancient city of Benin, the Edo State capital have received a boost following the commissioning of Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Benin airport recently installed by the agency.

Some of the ILSs are Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and VHF omnidirectional range (VOR). The DME is a navigation beacon, usually coupled to enable aircraft to measure their position relative to that beacon. Aircraft send out signal, which is sent back after a fixed delay by the DME.

Akinkuotu said this was in line with an earlier pledge by the agency to upgrade navigational infrastructure in strategic airports across the country in a bid to boost socio-economic activities in such areas.

Early last year, the Federal Government, through NAMA, made and contracts for 11 airfields ILS Visibility at many of the bad aerodromes, but with operable ILS to go to the aerodromes, “many expected the airlines not to give excuse of not being able to land in harmattan.

The agency had already installed Performance Based Navigation (PBN) in at least 18 of Nigeria’s airports, but the Nigerian carriers, except one, do not have corresponding equipment in their aircraft to make use of the facility, are foreign airlines are the ones enjoying the facility.

The PBN installed by the Agency has helped to reduce the visibility minimums, adding that there are 18 of them at the nation’s aerodromes.

Corresponding usage

Experts told Woleshadarenews that the multi-million dollar instrument landing system installed at some of the nation’s airports amounts to a waste of resources the domestic airlines do not have the requisite facilities on-board their aircraft to allow them to land in inclement weather.
Foreign airlines, it was gathered, are the ones enjoying the facilities as they can operate and land in inclement and foggy weather. Nigerian carriers are reported to lose over N1 billion during harmattan season caused by flight delays and cancellations. Most times they make a return after hovering for minutes, occasioned by their inability to land, thus leading to huge cost on aviation fuel. They said NCAA may not be doing enough to the aviation regulatory body to compel airline owners to install corresponding equipment on-board their airplanes to enable them land their aircraft, especially during harmattan season. They note that all the country’s navigational facilities are working at optimal levels, with a precise approach to landing at the five international airports where traffic is high also in top form.

According to Akinkuotu, “when you are flying zero visibility in Category three ILS, the pilot is not handling the situation; it is machines that will be doing the landing and take-off. So, there should be dual autopilot functioning in the airplane.

“The pilot has to be trained so that he will be able to fly in the dark and rely on the machines.” The pilot has to be trained regularly for it. . Those are the things that have to be put in place by the airline, “he added.

Last line

Merely publishing rules is not sufficient to ensure aviation safety; NCAA needs to monitor the practical application of these rules and learn from past accidents and incidents. Common safety and interoperability rules for the ‘total aviation system’ shall provide a quantum leap in terms of aviation safety.