The Accident Investigation Bureau – Nigeria (AIB-N) has acquired an emergency mobile satellite office to aid the investigation of accidents and serious incidents in the country.
The commissioner of AIB-N, Mr. Akin Olateru, disclosed this during the oversight visit of the joint national assembly committee on aviation to the Lagos office of the bureau at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
He said the agency would take delivery of the equipment in a few months time
He said the equipment, which would have all paraphernalia of a real office, would be deployed to any crash site in the event of any accident.
“This will help the investigators to create a mobile office at the crash site and download the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) right at the crash site without having to delay the process,” he said.
The commissioner further said the federal executive council had approved contract award for the equipment adding that procurement process had also commenced while delivery was being awaited.
Olateru emphasised that through quality safety recommendations on serious incidents and accidents in the sector, AIB-N helped to contribute to safety recorded in the sector in recent years.
Consequently, he said aviation industry in Nigeria could be compared to any other in the developed countries.
“Since 2016 till date, as a country we have only had one fatal accident. The sector is one of the best in the world in Nigeria. The safer airspace is due to the implementation of safety recommendations released by AIB-N.
“We have grown to the position where we help nations to set up their accident bureaus. France just signed a memorandum of understanding with us. This will enable us to help the francophone countries in Africa in accident investigation. AIB has the first accredited laboratory in Africa today,” he said.
To curb capital flight, he said through the training of its personnel, the agency was building a training school in Abuja where its investigators and foreigners would be trained.
According to him, AIB-N spends about $1 million (about N550 million) on training of technical personnel annually.
He maintained that the training school would reduce such spending.
Olateru said the project was about 90 per cent completed and hoped to commission the facility in the third quarter of this year.
“This is going to be the first of its kind in Africa with support from Cranfield University, United Kingdom, Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
“This institution will serve as a source of internally generated revenue for AIB-N with an enabling study environment, a four-star accommodation of 30 hotel rooms, training rooms and an auditorium of 250 capacity,” he added.
