Hector Igbikiowubo
6 January 2009
Lagos — THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has, for the second time in two months, expressed concern over incessant bird strikes to aircraft engines in Nigeria, noting that failure to do so could spell disaster.
This comes as the regulatory agency read the riot act for passengers who get involved in air rage aboard aircraft in flight.
Director-General of the NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, said at the weekend that bird strike, which according to him, had become a clear and present danger, may rubbish all the achievements recorded in the industry in the last three years unless the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Demuren, who spoke against the backdrop of the last bird strike that hit Arik Air shortly after take off from Port Harcourt International Airport penultimate Wednesday, said aside from the cost incurred by airlines which aircraft engines are damaged by birds, safety of passengers and equipment was also being put to test.
"FAAN has to really do something about this problem. This is because when an engine is attacked by birds, the loud bang that results from the attack can set confusion in the cockpit and there is a possibility of the pilot shutting down the engine that is okay. When this happens, that is disaster.
"The situation can really be messy if the pilot is a young first office who had just taken command of the aircraft.
"This is why we insist that our pilots go for simulation training every six months where they are put through this kind of experience. Some of my friends elsewhere in the world have asked why we ask our pilots to go for simulation every six months instead of one year. This is one of the reasons," Demuren said.
He charged the airports authorities to take steps to address the problem to avert a major disaster that could once again erode public confidence in air travel which waned in the aftermath of the fatal crashes of the last three years.
Some domestic airlines have recently rolled out losses incurred from repairs of damaged engines lost to bird strikes and these run into hundreds of millions of Dollars.
Aerocontractors declared recently that it lost close to $720 million to bird strike in 2007 alone, while Chanchangi claimed a figure a little less than that. According to Demuren, airlines, apart from the cost of repairing damaged engines, also record losses resulting from grounded operations of affected aircraft for the period repairs would last.
On air rage, Demuren said the NCAA would no longer tolerate a situation where some passengers get involved in violent acts on board aircraft in flight within the nation's airspace.
He said such rage was inimical to safety, stressing that the NCAA would, from this year, prosecute passengers involved in the act.
He said: "One of the things we will not tolerate in 2009 is violent passengers on board flight. In the past, we just caution such passengers, but this time around, violent passengers will henceforth be arrested and prosecuted because their action can cause major disasters."
On solution to the dearth of professionals in the nation's aviation industry, the NCAA boss said 10% of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) funds would now be dedicated to training alone.
The agency only recently took custody of the $35 million BASA funds which accrued from royalties on air agreement Nigeria signed with countries for which it is not reciprocating.
He said the NCAA would also appeal to other parastatals in the industry to give prime attention to training of their personnel.
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