Dana, Allied crashes National Assembly report pitches Nigeria against global standards

 The recent reports of the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Aviation on crash of Dana and Allied aircraft which concluded that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and its officers were not competent as against international judgment on the agency will only mar the industry’s successes rather than reshape it. 

The reason is because both the upper and lower chambers of the legislature allowed what some industry experts called ‘self-imposed’ rules to interfere with known international practice, hence some detrimental pronouncements were made out of ill-information and political interests.

If there is any issue that has been more debated in recent times in the aviation sector, it is the crashes in Lagos and Accra, which unfortunately happened within 24 hours of each other last year.

The issue became more prominent not only because it affected human lives directly but because some bodies that were supposed to be silent on the matter interfered and turned it into politics of some sort, thereby making the aviation sector and Nigeria a laughing stock in the international community.

While the government could sometimes act on the spur of the moment when an unfortunate incident or accident mishap happens, rather than achieve intended results, it distorts laid down procedures.

For instance, the fact that a public hearing was conducted by the National Assembly into the crash alone stands against international aviation regulations as contained in the International Civil Organization (ICAO) which Nigeria is a signatory to.

Even though the plan to conduct the public hearing was opposed by Stella Oduah, aviation minister and the same plan came under attack of members of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the lawmakers went ahead with it, strangulating global norms.

In a petition addressed to Mohammed Joji, chairman of the committee by the Secretary General of AON, with copies sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, David Mark, the senate president; Aminu Tambuwal, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and other principal officers of the National Assembly, the airline operators noted that “it would be illogical to conduct any public hearing or investigation when the body statutorily charged with that responsibility, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) was yet to conclude its investigation.

“In addition, members of the association noted that in any aircraft accident all over the world, public hearing into aircraft accident is not held in public because of its volatility due to loss of lives in such an accident, as it could heat up the polity. If this is allowed to continue it will put the Aviation Industry in bad light,” AON warned.

ICAO standards

When an accident happens involving an international civil aviation flight, Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Convention sets out the rules on the notification, investigation and reporting of the accident. It spells out who should conduct the investigation, which are the parties who can be involved, the rights of each party, how the investigation should be conducted, and how the final results should be reported.

Annex 13 also states that the sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident is to prevent accidents and incidents and the investigation is not to apportion blame or liability. In the event of an air crash, ICAO standards stipulate that the accident investigation agency of a country conducts thorough investigation and make recommendations on the crash.

Most air accident investigations are carried out by an agency of a country that is associated in some way with the accident. For example, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch conducts accident investigations on behalf of the British Government as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) conducts same on behalf of Nigeria.

Snippets from report vs standards

The conclusion by the National Assembly that the NCAA did not comply with its own procedures for issuance of Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to Dana Airlines and that most NCAA inspectors are not licensed or type rated on aircraft.

From available records, the AOC process is perhaps the most intense, technical and comprehensive safety process the NCAA engages in. It is a five phase process which includes flying the aircraft in demonstration flights for 50 hours without passengers in the 4th phase. The only people on the aircraft are the crew and NCAA Safety Inspectors.

According to Harold Demuren, NCAA director general, who reacted to the allegation, the process of AOC issuance also “involves analysis of technical and other operational manuals and processes of the airline including number of crew and their qualifications and evidence of the plan or program for carrying out both light and heavy repairs on the aircraft of the airline.”

The process, Demuren said, is exactly the same for every airline, adding that after the crash, Dana has undergone the rigorous AOC recertification.
 
Demuren explained that ICAO requirements for Aviation Safety Inspectors in Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) globally is that they must possess aeronautical engineering degrees and complete aircraft manufacturer’s course on the various types of aircraft and engine operating in the country.

“The NCAA fully complies with this. These are key issues that were inspected and examined in Nigeria in passing the ICAO Safety Audit and United States Federal Aviation Administration (US- FAA) Category-1. Even persons who were previously maintenance engineers cease to be when they start working for the CAA. The CAA’s role is safety oversight, not aircraft repair, among NCAA safety inspectors include pilots type rated that flew the MD-83,” Demuren explained.
 
The report also recommends that the Director General of NCAA himself be removed from office for negligence and incompetence.

On this, experts are of the opinion that “what the report characterises as negligence actually demonstrates appropriate safety precautions and deployment of the right, skilled and qualified personnel in carrying out the functions of the NCAA.

“The NCAA AOC procedure is in line with regulatory requirements, international practice and ICAO standards. It has been developed to a level of competence that has never been in its history,” the NCAA DG said.

Reacting to the allegations, Demuren dismissed the claims noting that currently, Nigeria and this current administration have proudly attained the highest available standards in aviation.

“We are currently not on the European Union Blacklist. We possess the ICAO Universal Safety Audit certification, and U.S. FAA Category-1 certification. Even after the crash, our current reputation is enviable and exemplary in Africa. Recently, ICAO sought Nigeria’s assistance with the possibility of sharing its experience in promoting safety with several other African countries,” Demuren added.

Stakeholders’ view

Members of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN) berated the lawmakers for this position saying that the public is only being fed with wrong information from those that are supposed to represent them rightly.

“It is therefore incorrect; the sweeping conclusion by the House that NCAA does not have a single qualified inspector on the MD 83. It is also not true that the NCAA does not have in its employment any person rated on the MD-83.

“From our investigation in NCAA and from commentaries from our members, NCAA inspectors pride themselves with multiple ratings and some of the best training portfolio in the world,” Benjami Okewu, president, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN) said in a statement.

Another error made by the legislators was on the fact that Dana Air made 14 air returns in three years apart from noting that MD-83 aircraft, which was used by Dana, had been phased out by the manufacturer.

Analysts note that such statements could be misleading because ‘Air returns are not necessarily an indication that the aircraft is not airworthy. It is a standard recommended safety precautionary measure and after every single air return. NCAA Airworthiness Safety Inspectors physically clear the aircraft before it is released back to operation.

Demuren explained that current operators of MD-83 aircraft range from the largest foreign and domestic carriers to new start-up airlines and charter operators.
 
“Two of the three largest United States airlines; American Airlines and Delta operate MD-83s currently.  American Airlines has 275 of the series in its fleet.  Delta has 117 of this aircraft type,” NCAA DG said.

Condemning another part of the report which asked government to revoke the license of Dana Airlines, Olumide Ohunayo, a travel analyst, described it as a bad one adding that the airline has just been recertified by the NCAA and some other airlines are going through that same process.

“If the legislature views the certification of Dana despite having an international Air Maintenance Organization (AMO) as partner as faulty and that the NCAA cannot be trusted, it means all other AOCs issued by the NCAA should be revoked with immediate effect; anything short of this is racism. I just pray their country of descent will not target Nigerian investors too, the priority should be payment of compensation to all,” Ohunayo explained.

He said that the directive demanding for the removal of the Director General and the dismissal of the engineer who inspected the ill-fated aircraft is ‘distasteful, hasty and ugly.’

“Rather, a speedy investigation and conclusion of the accident report should be our priority; at that point there will be no place to hide for everyone anymore. What is playing out right now is the age-long rivalry between the academically qualified engineers and those that rose through the ranks, which has metamorphosed into type qualified and type rated.

“We have got to the stage where industry experts and consultants that supplied the legislature with information should come out boldly and defend their reports, information and allegations individually or collectively rather than hide under the ambit of the hallowed chambers,” he pointed out.

Ohunayo also noted that demands of the Senate is not based on tribal sentiments as espoused in some quarters rather it is based on some information that look mischievous emanating from the cocktail of submissions made before, during and after the public hearing.

He cautioned that the director general of the NCAA should not be tagged with incompetence based on his record so far, adding that he should rather be decorated with national honors for elevating the regulatory institution rather than being hounded disrespectfully.

“Let the senate hang proven corruption charges and breach of contract on him, the tide will change ferociously,” he added.

He cited that ROSAVIATSIA, the Russian equivalent of NCAA was almost pushed last year, by their parliament to revoke the licenses of some airlines due to air mishaps but the Agency resisted and conducted their investigations.

“Red Wings Airline only last week lost its AOC in that process. The Russian regulator said they were losing the license not because of the air crash they had on the 29th of December 2012, but due to the numerous significant violations found during recertification. The airline lacked financial resources to provide ongoing operations consistent with appropriate level of safety. These are processes and procedures without interference but requisite oversight responsibility by all parties,” Ohunayo stated.

Ohunayo concluded that by being hasty and not conforming to international standards, ‘we are scaring investors, we need to stop the bickering and attract them by capitalizing on our Category 1 status.”