The Accident Investigation Bureau-Nigeria (AIB-N) yesterday published the investigation reports on eight aircraft accidents which occurred between 2010 and 2019 and issued nine safety recommendations to avert recurrence.
Two of the accidents involved foreign registered aircraft from Turkey and the United States.
Speaking at the presentation of the reports in Abuja yesterday, the commissioner and chief executive officer of AIB-N, Mr. Akin Olateru described the reports as the “biggest haul since the establishment of AIB-N.”
He said “while one is classified as accident, the remaining seven are serious incidents.”
Of the incidents released, three occurred at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa; one each at the Kotoka International Airport, Ghana, Kaduna and Benin airports, while the remainder happened in Lagos.
The reports are the serious incident involving a B737-500 aircraft marked 5N-BRN operated by Air Peace Limited which occurred at the Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State June 22, 2019; report on HS-125-700A aircraft operated by Associated Aviation Limited marked 5N-BEX, which occurred at Benin Airport, on July 10, 2011; report on the serious incident involving a B737-200 aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BIF owned and operated by Chanchangi Airlines, which occurred at the Kaduna Airport, Runway 05 on August 20, 2010.
Others are serious incident involving a Bombardier DHC-8-Q400 aircraft owned and operated by Arik Air with nationality and registration marks 5N-BKX which occurred en route Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana on March 6, 2018; serious incident involving a Boeing 737- 500 aircraft operated by Med-View Airline marked 5N-BQM, which occurred at FL320 en route Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on July 23, 2019; the accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS-125-800 XP aircraft owned and operated by SWAT Technology Limited with nationality and registration marks N497AG, which occurred on Runway 21, Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa, June 11, 2015.
In addition, the bureau presented the report on the serious incident involving an Airbus 330-343 aircraft operated by Turkish Airlines Inc. with nationality and registration marks TC-LOL, which occurred at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, on December 31, 2019 and the serious incident involving a Boeing 737- 300 aircraft owned and operated by Air Peace Limited with nationality and registration marks 5N-BUK which occurred at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on May 15, 2019.
AIB-N said one of the causal factors of the incidents was the unserviceable runway light at Runway 21 and recommended that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should ensure serviceability of DNPO runway lighting systems during all operations.
On the incident involving the Airlines, the agency recommended the airline should ensure flight crew adherence to provisions of the standard operating procedures as contained in the Turkish Airlines Flight Crew Techniques Manual vis-à-vis landing techniques.
Meanwhile, Olateru said the bureau had so far published a total of 67 reports and 220 safety recommendations since its creation in 2007 out of which 48 reports and 139 safety recommendations were released during his tenure.
On Arik incident, the bureau recommended that the airline “should ensure that flight crew execute appropriate checklist items completely in line with the aircraft Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) and Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) while the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) “should ensure that flight crew type-rated on Bombardier DHC-8-Q400 undergo further training on the effects of smoke in an enclosed area and actual use of relevant equipment in a simulated smoke environment.”
