By Group Captain[rtd] John Obakpolor
I have waited this long before lending my voice to the issue
above. In all my years in aviation industry both here and abroad, I have never
come across a situation as this: where a group of people constitute themselves
as judge and jury to pronounce judgment in a case which they are not
professionally competent. It was a travesty
of justice.
I am pleased at the amount of resentment poured out by the
Nigerian professionals who felt insulted by these masquerades and impostors
parading themselves as the watch dogs of the industry.
How could they violate the sanctity of the 'Hallowed'
chamber to perpetuate this heinous crime of character assassination in the name
of oversight duty they knew nothing about? I thank God that Nigerians are not
as ignorant as they thought.
The history of Aviation industry accidents/incidents is as
old as the industry itself. When they happen, it takes time and patient to
unravel and the causes found are used to proffer solution for future occurrence
of such accident/incident.
The results are never punitive in nature, else the spate of
accident/incident would be exacerbated. If we have to apply the Hope Uzodinma
approach, there would be no Aviation industry in the next one year. I am happy
that we operate a system of checks and
balances.
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION.
In an accident investigation, you must have an open mind to
allow free flow of information. You do not draw conclusion until the evidence
before you point you toward that direction. You do not work from answer to
question but allow the answer to evolve itself.
That was Senator Hope Uzodinma's style. At its inauguration,
his committee directed that the D.G, NCAA stepped aside to allow for unhindered
investigation.
This is not a financial misappropriation matter. That was
where he goofed. He was playing out
somebody’s script who have zero tolerance for healthy competition in the
industry.
This idea was brought to me when I headed the administrative
panel on the same DANA crash investigation. I thought it was a joke but I now
know better.
How else can one explain why a committee of a legislative
arm of government now wish to assume the role of NCAA in the issuance of
Aircraft Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and its revocation.
The two chambers joint committee members must be guided in the way they trod 'carelessly' in Aviation
terrain. Free flow of information is the bedrock of safety consolidation
Aviation.
We preach REPORTING in
CONFIDENCE with CONFIDENCE (RCC).
If this is achieved in the industry, confidence would have
been restored to the industry. Safety
Management System (SMS) must be fully
entrenched and enforced on the operating airlines in the country.
AIRCRAFT AGE IS NOT AN ISSUE
Much has been said about the age of an aircraft as a cause of frequent aircraft accident in Nigeria, but
this is not correct.
The age of an aircraft has no adverse effect on its
operational performance if the schedule maintenance is strictly adhered to.
This is what NCAA has been doing to make
sure that airlines do not default in their maintenance schedule.
The committee
recommended a 15years bar for any
aircraft operating in Nigeria. This will not only make it impossible for
airlines to re-fleet but also make it impossible for them to sustain themselves
in business.
A well maintained old aircraft is better than a poorly
maintained new aircraft. A Kenyan 737-800 that was three month old when it
crashed in Cameroon as a result of wind shear; that is weather related cause.
Bad weather does not discriminate between old or new
aircraft and in this case. What matters,
is perfect air-man ship and discipline. An old aircraft could be
retrofitted and become new.
An aircraft has two major components; Air frame and Engine
and they both have different life span. The engines are change from time to
time as at when due but an Airframe, when it reached the designed age limit are
taken out of service.
MD 83
Contrary to the committee findings MD 83 aircraft is very
much in operation all over the world including countries in Africa. How far can
emotion lead us when taking decision that will affect our economic structure.
During the era of Nigeria Airways which lost one of its
aircraft in a crash, elicited a lot of
emotional out cry and with a government
fiat, the airline was made to dispose of its fleet six (6) F28 brand new
Aircraft type without any technical reasons
When will this hasty and unsubstantiated decision making
attitude stop? Enough is enough. Seek for professional advice before taking
such far reaching decisions.
MILITARY HELICOPTER CRASH
A lot has been said about this crash. High profile emergency
meeting held and communique was issued at the end; all pointing towards
suspicion. It is unfortunate that we have gotten to this stage in our Aviation
industry.
The military is a place where such thought should not be
entertained because it is apolitical and non partisan in nature.
Why would any one doubt the outcome of a military
investigation to suggest the inclusion of an independent observer in the name
of “consultant”. If the situation has
gotten to this stage in our society, then God help us.
Let me at this juncture express my heart felt condolence to
Mr. President , the family of those who lost their dear ones in that horrible
accident; I joined the teeming Nigerians to pray for the repose of the souls of
the departed.
Military crashes happen every now and then. They happen that
we might learn from the result of the investigation. There has been suggestion
that the military operation be put under the Ministry of Aviation. That should
be the last thing to be considered.
I attended a workshop in the UK last October to review the
performance of MILITARY AVIATION AUTHORITY (MAA) in UK. This body came to being
as an after might of the crash of a reconnaissance aircraft (Nimrod) in
Afghanistan. The fallout from that report gave birth to MAA.
It was found out that there was no unified regulatory
authority for the military. Every arm of the
service was operating on its own. There was no interference from the
CAA.
With the MAA the services are brought under one command and
made the relationship with the CAA seamless.
The volume of our operations may not be in the magnitude of
the UK, it would be appropriate if we started thinking along that line.
CONCLUSION
It is high time we started doing things the right way. There
is no room for ignorance , hypocrisy, cheap popularity and hatchet man job in
Aviation industry.
Bogus consultants whose knowledge is centered around
vendetta and destruction of the few proven hands in the industry should be
exposed and stopped. It is time to sheath the sword and do some constructive
work to the good of the nation.
I wish you all COMPLEMENT of the season.
Group Captain John
Obakpolor (rtd.) was former Chairman National Society of Engineers (Aviation)
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