NCAA ought to have spotted worn out aircraft tyre before Alariwo—Experts
Whereas the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has commenced an investigation into the worn out aircraft tyre currently trending online and that anybody with details of the airline should come forward, an Aviation safety expert has chided the agency for not being on ground in the first instance.
It would be recalled that trouble had started when a music icon, Alariwo of Africa, posted a picture of a worn out aircraft tyre with the caption, “Do we need to start looking at tyres now before we board a plane in Nigeria?
He also said “This is the tyre of a plane and passengers are ready for boarding…This na one of the reasons why I never fly locally .. It’s all about money and not about the safety of the people.”
In an interview with a security expert, Mr. James Itodo, he said “There are many aviation safety lapses which are yet to be made public in Nigeria.
“If you go to some airports, they do not have complete perimeter fence. You can see fence from the front view, but many airports do have complete perimeter fence round the airports.
“On the worn out tyre trending picture, the tyre shows that it has been on regular use even before then. The airline management is aware and did nothing.
“I think it will be hard to identify the particular airline as it must have been replaced now to avoid customers’ change of flying loyalty.
Also speaking, an Aviation Engineer, Mr. Roland Ahmed said “Every part of the aircraft is very important and therefore should not be toiled with. There are checks before boarding and checks before taxing to takeoff.
“There are several quality assurance checks which includes A,B,C and D check and some of the checks could come within months and years but there are daily checks and flight checks that must be done before takeoff and the tyres remain very important.
“There is also weekly checks, transit checks, takeoff checks and later checks.
He said for travelers to see the worn out tyre means that the safety intelligence of the particular airline has been poor which translates to danger for air travelers.
Both aviation experts expressed worries on why the surveillance team of NCAA at all the airports could not see the safety breach until a passenger saw and captured it in a viral photo.
The experts said it would not be so easy for the musician to reveal the name of the airline to avoid open demarketing and associated litigation.
However, in a statement, the NCAA said “In line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation Standard and Recommended Practices and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, no airline operator could embark on commercial air transportation for hire and reward without airworthy operating aircraft.
The NCAA on hearing the trending photo stressed that in addition to its oversight role, it had placed the responsibility of the first line of safety on the operating airlines’ pilot of each flight and the assigned engineer that authorised each flight.
It also added that “NCAA wishes to advise the original author of the post or any other individuals with a safety-related issue, if any, to furnish the authority with the identity of the airline or any of such information to enable us to establish the authenticity of the claim and ensure appropriate action.
“According to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations Part 5.4.1.1(b), the authority shall issue a Certificate of Airworthiness for aircraft registered in Nigeria based on satisfactory evidence that the aircraft complies with the design aspects of the appropriate airworthiness requirements (type certificate) and is in a condition for safe operation.
“It is the primary responsibility of the authority inspectors to ensure that all the parts of the aircraft comply with the applicable airworthiness requirements and remains in a condition for safe operation before every flight and throughout its operating life.”
NCAA added that “With all the various checks and counter checks put in place by the NCAA combined with that of the operators, it is, therefore, improbable that any airline in Nigeria will operate a service with that kind of tyre”.
