The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) yesterday released the final report on an accident involving Chanchangi Boeing 737-200 aircraft that occurred at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, about 12 years ago.
Also released yesterday were the final reports on the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Tampico TB-9 aircraft with registration 5N-CBJ, a Beechcraft aircraft with registration N564UZ belonging to Shoreline and a Veteran Avia Airline EK-74798 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The AIB Commissioner, Akin Olateru, at a briefing in Abuja said that the AIB had issued nine safety recommendations to improve the system and provide crucial intervention with the aim of preventing future occurrence.
Olateru said the Chanchangi accident involving a 737-200 with registration 5N- BIG, which occurred on July 14, 2008, had no safety recommendations.
“There is no excuse for keeping an accident report for seven years or more. As we speak, Chanchangi is gone and so if we release a safety recommendation, it will be an open item. This is why there has to be speed in the release of accident reports.
“I cannot speak for my predecessors. All I can say is that there were a lot of challenges with workforce and procedures. With the help of the National Assembly and the minister of aviation, we have been able to temporarily solve some of these problems,” Olateru said.
On the accident involving the Tampico TB-9 aircraft operated by Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria, AIB said a late decision to initiate a go-around after touchdown resulted in loss of directional control of the aircraft after landing.
The accident had a safety recommendation 2020-022, stating that “NCAT should ensure that where there are gaps in student pilots’ training, policies and procedures should be put in place in the training programme so that the students are brought up to speed in both theory and practice.”
On the Beechcraft C90 aircraft with nationality and registration marks N364UZ, operated by Shoreline Energy International Limited (SEIL), the aircraft crashed on a farmland and was engulfed in flames with the two occupants fatally injured.
The AIB discovered a non-adherence to approved storage procedure as well as approved return from storage procedure as well as inadequate regulatory oversight on flight operations and maintenance of foreign registered aircraft in Nigeria.
The bureau issued four safety recommendations, all to the Nigerian civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The last accident report on 747-200 aircraft operated by Veteran Avia Airlines Limited, with registration marks EK-74798 at the Abuja Airport had as contributory factors lack of briefing by the Saudi dispatcher during pre-flight and ineffective communication between crew and ATC, among others.
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