The Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) in conjunction with the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) is set to begin Year 2021 with a conference of aviation industry stakeholders and policy formulators to deliberate on the subject ‘Preventing human factors in accident occurrences.’
LAAC said in a statement that the conference, which will be held in two formats – physical and virtual, is slated for January 15, 2021, at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Lagos at 9am with the theme:
It said fewer than 300 industry stakeholders such as airline operators, airport operators, investigators, safety inspectors, pilots, engineers and Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) are expected to participate in the event.
“Due to the Covid-19 protocols and the guidelines set out by the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on Covid-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), physical participation is limited to only 80 guests, while others would join the conference virtually through the Zoom network,” LAAC stated.
Commenting on the conference, the commissioner and chief executive officer of AIB-N, Mr. Akin Olateru, who is expected to be the lead speaker at the event, said no fewer than 75 per cent of air accidents occur due to human factors.
Some of the human factors, according to him included inadequate training for technical personnel, poor facilities, fatigue and poor communication between the cockpit and the control tower amongst others.
“After an analysis of the several accident reports we have released since 2017, it has become apparent that about 75 per cent of these accidents and incidents have resulted from human factors.
“This conference is part of the fulfillment of AIB’s mandate of preventing accident occurrences and reoccurrence and public advocacy of accident situational management.
“The conference is expected to educate airline and airport operators, aviation agency personnel, aviation reporters, accident emergency responders and other stakeholders on measures that can help reduce human factors in air accident and incident occurrences, while equipping aviation reporters with more knowledge for accurate reportage of accident and incident occurrences,” he said.
He further said aviation accidents are preventable if the necessary precautionary measures are put in place or observed to stop their occurrence.
Olateru added that although a few of the human errors in Nigeria in recent time did not necessarily lead to loss of human lives, he lamented that replacement of any damaged parts in aircraft due to human errors cost the operators millions of naira, which could have been channelled to other important aspects of their operations.
He hoped that through the conference, global aviation industry, nay Nigeria would be safer.
In addition, the commissioner said the bureau decided to partner with LAAC because of its antecedent in organising successful conferences with useful communiqué.
“As a league of journalists, the association has promoted air safety and robust journalism.
“LAAC is a dependable ally in this project, considering the various conferences that the association has held in recent years, which have impacted the industry positively.
Also, the secretary, LAAC conference planning committee, Mr. Albinus Chiedu, said the conference was important in order to improve safety in Nigeria’s aviation industry.
He also said the conference “is necessary at the time when the industry globally is just recovering from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic,” adding that at the peak of the disease, most aviation practitioners were out of jobs.
He assured that the league would continue to promote safety and security in the sector through its developmental, educative and informative journalism.
“The importance of this conference to safety improvement in Nigeria’s aviation industry cannot be over-emphasised. Apart from the physical participation, we urge all stakeholders to participate virtually in this enlightenment and advocacy programme aimed at preventing accident occurrences in the sector.
“Safety can never be swept under the carpet. In recent time, AIB-N as an investigator has fully woken up to its duties. Since the appointment of the commissioner, a total of 40 final reports have been released to the public, which make up of 67.8 per cent of AIB-N’s total of 59 final reports released since inception in 2007. This is unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s aviation industry. Such a man needs the support of all.
“However, due to the COVID-19 protocols, physical attendance is restricted to only 80 participants. So, attendance is strictly by invitation. Other participants can join virtually on Zoom network through a code that would be generated and publicised before the day,” he added.
The minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika is expected to be the special guest of honour, while the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu will be the keynote Speaker.
The programme will feature a panel discussion session with representatives of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and other stakeholders.
