The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu has tasked Aviation stakeholders to perform its role to avoid accidents in the sector.
Mr Nuhu stated this at the conference on prevention of human factors in air accident occurrences organised by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) in partnership with the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC).
He noted that the industry had only recorded one serious incident with fatalities in the last five years with the Quorum Helicopter crash of 2020 which killed three crew members on board.
According to him, the feat was made possible through the synergy of all stakeholders.
“We do not want to get it wrong and we do not want to have blood on our hands. The primary responsibility of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is public safety and this is what we must assure through our safety oversight and shared responsibilities with the certified entities and licensed personnel.
“We must jettison the tag of being a reactive people to that of being proactive and predictive, where we must not allow existing latent conditions including those associated with human errors to precipitate into incidents and accidents,” he explained.
The DG stressed that while it is common knowledge, widely propagated: within the industry that at least 70% of aviation accidents are due to Human Factors.
He said,” An in-depth review of the established different CICTT categories will show that humans are somehow practically involved in or interface with all the occurrence categories.”
Commissioner of AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru, on his part, stressed that aviation remains the safest means of transportation, but that safety rating must be improved in the country.
According to him, it is of paramount importance to do everything that would contribute to a substantial reduction of the human factor failure in air transportation.
He stated that human factors knowledge can be used to reduce the likelihood of errors and build more error-tolerant and more resilient systems.
These, he noted were important for safe and efficient aviation.
Chairman of League of Airport and Aviation correspondent, LAAC, Mr Olusegun Koiki stressed the need for continued focus on human factors in air accident investigation since it plays a crucial role in safety in the global aviation sector as it would reduce the rate of accidents.
“One small error caused by poor procedures or miscommunication can result in catastrophic events including loss of life,” he said.
He commended the AIB performance in improving air safety.
“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate that if indeed, the Federal Government desires safer transportation for the country, it is pertinent to amend the existing Act setting up AIB to include the investigation into other modes of transport – Intermodal investigation is the way to go.
“AIB as an organisation has performed creditably well in ensuring safer skies for air transport in Nigeria. AIB’s statutory duty should be extended to other modes of transport like road, rail and marine. A situation where the inspector also acts as an investigator/regulator will rob off on the credibility of an investigation report.
“The current Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Bill before the National Assembly should be passed. The approval of this bill will reinforce safety in all modes of transportation in Nigeria through distinctive, efficient and effective investigations of accidents and serious incidents involving any of the modes of transportation within Nigeria or anywhere else Nigeria’s interests lie,” Koiki added.
PIAK
