ANOTHER crash was averted as an IRS
aircraft with 89 passengers was involved
in an emergency landing at the Kaduna
The plane, which was said to have
boarded the passengers from Lagos, had
a hydraulic problem and the pilot had no
other choice but to embark on an emergency landing.
It was also learnt that in the process, “the
landing gear also developed a problem,
but the pilot had to use his expertise to
land the aircraft safely with the
passengers.”
But the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA) denied that the plane was
involved in emergency landing. A
statement by the Director-General of
the NCAA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, said:
“An IRS aircraft from Lagos to Kaduna
landed safely at the airport at about
11.00 a.m. this morning in spite of
developing a minor hydraulic problem on
approaching landing. The pilot, using
reverse throttle mechanism, safely landed
and stopped the aircraft on the runway.
The aircraft was not involved in an
emergency landing.
“All passengers and crew disembarked
safely, after which the aircraft was towed
from the runway to the apron. Normal
operations have since resumed at the
airport.”
A top official of the Nigerian Red Cross
(NRC) who was at the scene of the
incident yesterday told The Guardian that
“none of the passengers sustained
injuries. However, some parts of the
plane got damaged.
“The incident caused commotion at the
airport. The fire-fighters were
immediately on ground to avert any fire
incident. When the plane landed safely,
there was stampede because the
passengers tried to rush out. But no
injury was recorded.”
The Managing Director of the carrier, Mr.
Yemi Dada, told The Guardian: “On final
approach to Kaduna today (Sunday), on
our flight 3390 with 89 passengers, our
cockpit crew got low hydraulic in system
one warning and decided to take
precautionary measures to ask for ground
confirmation that all gears were down and
locked and the aircraft landed normally.”
Dada explained that the airplane “landed
normally after the control tower had
confirmed that the gears were all down
normally.”
The airline chief further stated that the
crew proceeded to land but followed
procedure to disembark on the runway
and not taxi in accordance with the
normal procedure.
His words: “All passengers disembarked
normally and the aircraft was towed to
ramp. The maintenance crew members
are inspecting to confirm the issue that
caused the warning to the crew.”
Meanwhile, the preliminary report on the
Associated Airlines crash released by the
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) may
have doused tension over what probably
led to the crash penultimate week, but it
has highlighted some regulatory gaps in
aviation safety.
The Commissioner, AIB, Captain Muktar
Usman, had while releasing the report in
Abuja on Friday, disclosed that a
“malfunctioning engine might have caused
the Associated Airlines’ plane crash, which
claimed 15 lives.”
Aside from the disclosure that the captain
did not heed warning signals from his
flight deck computer, attention has
shifted to certification and release of the
ill-fated airplane.
Not a few are confused whether the
aircraft developed fault shortly after take-
off or that the crew were aware that the
Brazilian-made aircraft was already faulty
before the disastrous trip.
According to the AIB boss, “the crew,
from analysis of the Flight Data Recorder
(FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder
(CVR), discussed some concerns about the
aircraft prior to departure; but at this
time, we are not prepared to elaborate
on those concerns as there remains a lot
of work to be completed in order to
determine the specific nature of the
crew’s concerns.”
Experts have, however, condemned the
NCAA for dearth of aircraft inspectors.
Also, the NCAA is said to be broke, a
situation that has seriously affected
training, retraining of inspectors and
others whose jobs are critical to airplane
safety.
An aircraft inspector, who spoke with The
Guardian on the condition of anonymity,
noted: “Aircraft inspectors’ allowances are
not being paid as at when due, leaving us
to the open temptations of bribe and
compromise from corrupt and desperate
airline operators who want their planes to
fly at all cost.”
The implication of this for air safety and
air transport security is better imagined.
The recent Associated Airlines, he said,
was a veritable case in point.
“There is a very big challenge in training
and retraining here at NCAA,” he added.
The source stated that unlike before
where training was mandatory for an
inspector and other key personnel, the
situation was so dire for the regulatory
agency.
According to the source, the NCAA is so
broke now that it finds it very difficult to
meet its basic needs; a situation, he said,
could seriously affect safety.
His words: “Some of us that are due for
training overseas are asked to fund our
training and come back for a refund after
the training. This is absurd and they keep
saying they are broke.”
A former Deputy Secretary-General,
Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON),
Mohammed Tukur, told The Guardian that
the AIB report was one that showed that
the pilot committed suicide going by the
warnings he received.
He condemned the release of the aircraft,
querying whether NCAA was present
when the airline carried out checks on the
airplane before that fateful date.
Tukur also said financial consideration
other than safety could have propelled
the airline and crew to embark on such a
dangerous trip.
An airline operator, who did not want to
be named, advised that the aviation
regulatory agency must assert its
autonomy without recourse to the
Ministry of Aviation for decisions.
He urged the agency to urgently audit
Nigerian airlines with a view to knowing
which airlines are healthy.
Guardian
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