Aviation stakeholders on Thursday urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) to work together toward improving safety in the sector.
The stakeholders spoke in Lagos at the Quarterly Breakfast Meeting of the Aviation Round Table (ART) which had the topic: “Advantages of Implementing AIB Recommendations”.
Dr Harold Demuren, a former Director-General of NCAA, said both the NCAA and the AIB exist for the common goal of promoting aviation safety and preventing accidents.
He said Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) empowers the AIB to investigate accidents and serious incidents and to make safety recommendations aimed at preventing its recurrence.
“AIB do not have the authority to enforce or implement these safety recommendations. They have to pass it to the NCAA which is the regulator of the industry, so that is why they must continue to work together.
“The NCAA, thereafter, will evaluate the recommendations using a risk-based approach and might decide to implement them partially or decline to do so, ‘’ Demuren said.
Also, Capt. Muhtar Usman, the NCAA Director-General, said that committees were set up by the Federal Government in 2014 and 2017 to look into the safety recommendations on accidents made by the AIB to the agency.
Usman, represented by Mr Ifeanyi Okike, National Coordinator, State Safety Programme, NCAA, said it was discovered that out of the 37 recommendations issued, 29 had been fully implemented.
According to him, two were partially recommended, while the NCAA declined to implement the remaining six because of the risks associated with their recommendations.
He noted that the leadership of both agencies would continue to collaborate to ensure the safety of the Nigerian airspace.
On his part, Mr Sam Oduselu, former Commissioner, AIB, said the bureau had improved the welfare of its investigators to ensure that they are not compromised in the course of performing their duties.
Oduselu explained that the timely implementation of safety recommendations was very crucial, stressing that the NCAA should ensure that the recommendations are injected into the industry to enhance safety.
Earlier in his welcome address, Dr Gbenga Olowo, President, ART, said implementation of the safety recommendations was crucial to the industry.
Olowo said the quarterly breakfast meeting was aimed at bringing aviation stakeholders and policy makers together to dialogue on how to promote safety and professionalism.
