The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) committee investigating the accidental bombing of an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at Rann in Borno State has asked for time extension to submit its report.
The committee, headed by the NAF Chief of Standard and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Salihu Bala-Ribbah, was given up to February 2 to submit its report.
According to the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar,the committee asked for the extension of its mandate to get all the facts.
The Air Chief said the committee had visited the affected area, interviewed relevant people and wrote a report.
Meanwhile the (NAF) also revealed that a special phenomenon described as “Special Disorientation” was responsible for the tragic crash of the Donnier 228 aircraft with tail number NAF 030 which crashed shortly after take-off in Kaduna on August 29th,2015.
According to the Chairman of a special investigations panel and NAF’s Director of Safety, Air Vice Marshal Sampson Akpasa, detailed investigations by the manufacturers of the aircraft revealed that there was nothing wrong with the engine.
Akpasa: “We shipped the engine to the manufacturers, Honeywell Aerospace in Arizona USA, two board members observed the tear down of the engines between 30th O?ctober to 4th November 2015. Also, analysis on the fuel used by the aircraft was done by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and we found that both engines were working well at the time of the acident also, the fuel was found to be safe,” he said.
Seven occupants of the aircraft sustained fatal injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repairs.
AVM Akpasa said special disorientation is a phenomenon in aviation which can happen to any pilot?, it is a situation where a pilot suddenly loses concentration and is disoriented to the point of losing control of the aircraft.
Akpasa also said investigation is ongoing on an F7Ni incident in Yola in 2016 saying an “unexploded ordinance” carried by the aircraft was buried underground and has not been exhume.
On the Augusta 101 helicopter which? crashed in Markudi in October 2016, he said parts of the aircraft have been flown to the United Kingdom and Canada for analysis.
The CAS said the NAF has put in measures to prevent such incidences by training more flight safety officers? to monitor flying activities on all the platforms.
Abubakar: “ On the Donnier aircraft, there was no engine problem, what happened was special disorientation, it is a phenomenon in flying and we are training more safety officers to monitor our flying activities.
“On the? F7 jet, the pilot died and investigations are ongoing, we will get the necessary support from the manufacturers to get a conclusive investigation.
“The NAF will continue to build ca?pacity, train and get the best of the equipment in our care.”