The Need For A Breath Of Fresh Air In Nigeria's Airspace
While most Nigerians and
families of the 153 passengers of the crashed Lagos-bound Dana Airways Flight 992
were thrown into heart wrenching mourning, many knowledgeable observers of the
aviation environment have actually considered it a miracle that the country has
not had worse air crashes before this incident. According to knowledgeable
observers, the crash is only another manifestation of an aviation environment
that is careless, corrupt and short-sighted in its regulatory functions.
Ordinarily one may be
tempted to be more understanding of the officials of our aviation system and
the operators of the Dana Airways for the air crash. After all, Air planes are
machines and machines do breakdown sometimes,. Even in the most developed
countries, where officials pay meticulous attention to maintenance and flight
protocol, fatal air crashes do occur. However in the case of Nigeria, it is
very difficult ot be charitable towards both the operators of the airline and
the government regulators because of their antecedents and well documented
negligence and carelessness when it comes to operating flights over Nigerian
airspace and in regulating the aviation industry in general
On the part of the airline
operators, it is going to be difficult for them to claim Act Off God or unavoidable
accident as a defense because the particular plane that crashed has a troubled
history of operational problems. A close look at its operational history has
revealed that the plane had actually been involved in many mishaps prior to its
being sold to Dana Airlines. One of these accidents actually involved the
cockpit catching fire! After being ‘parked’ for years, the old owners dusted it
up and sold it to Nigeria with the knowledge that Nigeria probably will not
look too closely at its history.
Apart from its troubled
history with its previous owners, the ill-fated plane had also alerted those
that cared to observe that it is a flying coffin just looking for bodies to
bury. Staffers of the airline have openly revealed that the airline has been
going through various operational problems before the fatal crash.
Just a week before the
crash, the same type of aircraft operated by the same Dana Airline had to make
an emergency landing at the Uyo airport due to hydraulic failures same aircraft
was reported to have developed some problems while in a south eastern airport.
On the part of the
government, we have a law that recommends that that airplanes over 22 years old
should not be allowed to fly in Nigeria, yet the ill-fated plane was about 28
years old.
In the context of the larger
picture, it is sad to note that the serious safety issues common Dana airlines
is not by any means unique. From recent revelations, it appears that many of
our airlines have been operating aircraft that are much older than 22years in
contravention of the recommendations of the law. In fact, a certain airline is
operating two aircraft that are older than 40 years old with the apparent knowledge
and acquiescence of the government and regulatory agencies.
It has also been noted by observers
on the ground at ground zero of the crash that it took the rescue operators and
first time responders to get to the site of the crash and even when they did,
they were not properly equipped with the right equipment to carry our prompt
rescue operations for any survivors from the plane or those who were in the buildings
into which the plane crashed.
There are very serious
matters arising from this fatal crash and serious questions are being raised as a result of the loss of over 153 lives in
this fatal accident.
irst, how do these outdated aircrafts that
have been written off the books by the original owners manage to continue to
fly our airspace and daily putting the lives of Nigerian citizens in jeopardy?
It will be most enlightening for somebody to explain how 42 year old planes are
still being allowed to fly despite the clear directives of the minister of
Aviation over 10 years ago?
Secondly, what
emergency and rescue facilities does the
government have in place to ensure prompt response to accidents of this nature.
Thirdly, it is curious that
virtually all the 8 separate plane crashes that happened in the last 15 years
happened on weekends( Fri – Sun). Here is the roll call: 1. The Dana Air crash of
June 3rd, 2012 happened on a Sunday; 2. The Bellview crash of October
22nd, 2005 was on a Saturday; 3. The Sosoliso crash of Dec 10th,
2005 was on a Saturday; 4. Dornier Air force crash of September 17th,
2006 was on a Sunday; 5. the ADC crash of October 29th, 2006 happened
on a Sunday; 6. the EAS Airline crash in Kano on May 4th, 2002 was on
a Saturday; 7. Skypower Express crash of January 5th, 2000 was on a
Fri and 8. the next Skypower Express crash of Jan 31, 1997 was also on a Friday.
Is the curious fact that all these 8 crashes happened over a weekend simply a
coincidence or something to do with the fact that Nigerians generally do not
have a good work ethic during weekends due to the ‘thank God’ its Friday syndrome?
Fourthly, is our aviation
problem a result of incompetent hands running our aviation industry or simply a
matter of a long string of bad luck that the famed Goodluck of our President
cannot solve. We must ask what exactly are the qualifications of our principal regulatory
players. How seasoned or qualified is our aviation minister, Stella Oduah? What
kind of continuing education regime do we have for our plane pilots and
engineers? What is the readiness and efficiency level of our inspection and
oversight protocol?
These and many other
questions are going to be popping up in the coming weeks and months and we must
find answers to these relevant questions quickly.
Without a doubt, Nigeria needs an urgent breath of fresh air in our toxic airspace. Virtually everyone agrees that due to
the worldwide interest in plane crashes and the national anguish and pain
that necessarily follows plane crashes, it is imperative that we must be at the top
of our game when it comes to regulating, maintaining and running our airlines and regulating our airspace.
This is one area of our economy where appointments and hiring decisions cannot be made based on
political patronage, connections or godfatherism alone. Too much is at stake to risk putting
incompetent people in places of authority in this very sensitive industry.
Barrister
Ope Banwo is an Attorney, Public Commentator, Business Consultant, Author, and
Motivational Speaker. He is the initiator of the Market Ombudsman and the
Founder of the syndicated Ombudsman Show on television networks. He writes from
Lagos, Nigeria. Email: opebanwo@aol.com
Tel: 07066482753
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