The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Accident Investigation

  • Nigeria, Republic of Benin partner on air accident investigation

    The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents of Benin Republic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on accident investigation.

    The MoU was signed on the sideline of the ongoing workshop on accident investigation for African countries organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), on Wednesday in Abuja.

    While signing the MoU, Mr Akin Olateru, AIB Commissioner, said the two countries would partner in the area of accident investigation, capacity building and information sharing, to enhance standards.

    Olateru said the partnership would help the nations’ accident authorities fulfill their international obligations in accident investigation.

    According to him, the agreement in the MoU is in four parts — cooperation, capacity and human development, exchange of information and assistance.

    He said the two countries would assist each other in the event of an accident in any of the countries by combining their resources and expertise to conduct the investigation.

    According to him, AIB will be signing another MoU with Sao Tome, Niger Republic and other countries within the next few months.

    “All these today between Republic of Benin and Nigeria is to help us both to fulfill our obligations with regards to ICAO convention on accident investigation.

    “The synergy will go a long way to enhance capacity of our investigators because they will be working with each other to investigate accidents in any of the countries.

    “It is about capacity building at the end of the day;if you look at it because the more you practice the more you learn in accident investigation practices because there are no two same accidents and it takes years to fully train an accident investigator.

    “This for us, is to enhance our capability and boost our expertise in terms of accident investigation and as at today, Nigeria is the leader in terms of accident investigation in Africa” he said.

    Bongo Paul, Head of Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents, Benin Republic, said he was glad to have signed the MoU with Nigeria, adding that the negotiation for the partnership had been on for six months.

    Paul said it was significant to have entered into the partnership with a next door neighbouring country in addition to the ones with European countries.

    He said the idea was to enable Benin to fulfill its obligations in the area of accident investigation through capacity building.

  • Accident investigation and safety

    ACcording to an adage, “experience is the best  teacher”.

    In the history of Nigeria, a lot of public and private sector organisations have failed and gone into oblivion.

    My question, however is: Does this generation know why those businesses failed or collapsed and how will the upcoming generations know why?

    There is, therefore, the need to document the essential stories of the rise and fall of such businesses to enable business entrepreneurs and political office holders learn lessons  to avoid the pitfalls, which brought them down.

    Similarly, it is expedient that for the lead agency, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the state traffic management agencies to establish effective and result-oriented mechanism for the regular and prompt investigation of road traffic crashes (post-crash investigation and reporting) with an unbiased identification, documentation and publication of the causes of the accidents. This will surely go a long way in enhancing safety on Nigeria roads because road users will be adequately exposed to the pitfalls responsible for the accidents and consciously take steps to avoid the pitfalls with their adverse consequences.

    There is, no doubt, about the fact that road accident investigation and documentation involve a lot of money. This is, however, one of the areas where the governments at the Federal and state levels need to  demonstrate their commitment to the safety of the lives and properties.

    The governments should sponsor  FRSC and state traffic management agencies officers for more training in investigation and reporting and  provide funds for the documentation of the reports to boost road safety education and safety on the roads.

    The provisions on Road Safety Administrations in the Police Act before the creation of the Federal Road Safety Commission in 1988 has not been reviewed till date (The power and functions are still there in the Police Act). The role of the VIOs and the Police in Accident investigation and reporting is still conflicting and confusing, still unknown to several Nigerians. In the same vein, the clause in the constitution which conferred the function of Road Safety Administration on State Governments is still sitting there in the constitution without any serious move to amend it even after the FRSC Establishment Act. These have been causing lots of confusion and crises in Road Safety Administration in Nigeria.

    Likewise, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and some other Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies over the past years have been laying claims to the creation of millions of jobs for the unemployed youths. But has anybody asked how they arrived at the decision to select the Trade areas? Did they go to the market place to know how many people are already engaged in that Trade and how they are faring in the business?

     

     

    Has any of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies carried out the requisite monitoring and evaluation to know how many out of the youths they trained in the past are using the skills and how are they doing before deciding to train more youths in the same set of Trades or what is the percentage of relapse and why? No of course!  It is very expedient for the Governments (Federal, State and Local) and Nigerians as a whole, to always research into the past as a guide to planning for the present and future efficiently and effectively.

     

    Dangers of distraction in driving (II)

    • Unsafe reaction to emergencies.
    • Lane indiscipline.
    • Erratic interpretation of information and wrong judgment.
    • Improperly co-ordinated driving and braking.
    • Prone to driving errors and crashes.

    Consequent upon the dangers of every distraction, I use this medium to appeal to drivers and vehicle owners to avoid distractions to save their lives and that of other road users.

     

     

  • Accident investigation and safety

    Accident investigation and safety

    According to an adage, “experience is the best teacher”. In the history of Nigeria, a lot of public and private sector organisations have failed and collapsed into oblivion. My question, however, is, “Do this generation know why those businesses failed or collapsed and how will the upcoming generations know why they failed or collapsed?’’

    There is, therefore, the need to document the essential stories of the rise and fall of such businesses to enable the business entrepreneurs and upcoming ones as well as political office holders learn lessons to avoid the pitfalls.

    Similarly, it is expedient now than ever before, for the lead agency, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the state traffic management agencies to establish effective and result-oriented mechanism for the regular and prompt investigation of road traffic crashes (post-crash investigation and reporting) with an unbiased identification, documentation and publication of the causes of the accidents. This will surely go a long way in enhancing safety on Nigerian roads because road users will be adequately exposed to the pitfalls responsible for the accidents and consciously take steps to avoid the pitfalls with their adverse consequences.

    There is no doubt about the fact that road accident investigation and documentation involve a lot of money. This is however one of the areas where the governments at the Federal and state levels need to clearly demonstrate their commitment to the safety of the lives and properties of Nigerians.

    The governments should sponsor officers of FRSC and state traffic management agencies for in-depth training in road accident investigation and reporting and regularly provide funds for the documentation of the report as a boost to road safety education and safety on Nigerian roads.

     

  • AIB boss urges restraint in accident investigation

    The Commissioner of Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Dr. Felix Abali, has called for restraint on the issue of aircraft mishap.

    He said AIB would continue to discharge its functions in line with internationally standards.

    At the stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Abali said the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13, prescribed the sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident.

    Such role, he said, is to prevent recurrent accidents and incidents.

    He explained that the purpose of this activity is not to apportion blame or liability, adding that this might run against the expectation of  the public.

    He, however, said this is understandable due to the emotion- laden atmosphere that usually accompanies air mishaps, and that AIB would not carry out its investigation without emotions.

    He added: “It is also not unusual to find many people eager to know the cause of aircraft accidents, even in a matter of days. So, accident investigation process is more complex than many often imagine.We must be painstaking and thorough so as to arrive at a conclusion that is not only fair and transparent but can also be scientifically proven.

    “Besides the accident site investigation that is usually open to the public, accident investigation entails gathering information from diverse sources including documentations, such as maintenance and personnel records, regulatory authority records, flight planning documents and operators manuals.

    “Other sources are recordings such as flight recorders, interviews, direct observations of actions performed by operating or maintenance personnel in their work environment, simulations, specialist advice, safety databases and so on.

    “There are also statutory processes to be engaged before reports are released to the public. All these take time. It is, therefore, important to appeal to the public and concerned citizens to please show some understanding and patience during air mishaps.

    “It may also be apt to enjoin some people who always try to preempt accident investigations to apply the brake and allow AIB to do its job.”

    Abali said the ongoing amendment of the regulations would make the document more robust, transparent and all-inclusive.

    He insisted that review is the livewire of any organisation that is serious about growth and progress, stressing that the agency’s experience in Nigeria and all over globe had made it imperative for the regulations, which took effect on November 11, 2006 to be reviewed.

    He explained that Nigeria cannot operate in isolation of others, stressing that it was necessary for it to align itself with happenings in the global aviation industry.

    Abali maintained that the regulation is an important tool for carrying out the functions of accident investigation  according to the framework for the operations of the bureau, adding that the bureau’s enabling law, which also domesticated the ICAO, Annex 13, formed the bedrock of the regulations.

    He said one of the major  responsibilities of AIB is to make safety recommendations in an incident or accident, adding that it is not in the Bureau’s purview to enforce compliance; rather, the responsibility is that of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

    He added: “We only monitor implementations of our recommendations. Accident investigation process is more complex than many people imagine. So, we must be thorough in our findings and recommendations. There are statutory processes to be engaged before the recommendations are released to the public.”

    Also, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika reiterated that the Federal Government would continue to take the issues of safety and security of all airport users critical.

    He said the amendment process had been duly followed as stipulated in the  Regulation 2006 with the participation of the observer to the bureau’s regulation committee reporting to the Federal Ministry of Aviation on the matter.

    Sirika, who was represented by the Special Adviser, Technical, Capt. Nuhu Musa, said amendments by the agency were in tandem with the ICAO Annex 13 on Accident Investigation, and that they had been included in the first regulations.

    In her presentation, Mrs. Maureen Tsenongo of AIB, said the essence of the amendment was for the industry to move forward and improve incident or accident investigation.

    She noted that before the review, technical personnel in AIB took a careful look at the regulation.

  • Accident Investigation Bureau probes crash

    Accident Investigation Bureau probes crash

    he Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), has commenced investigation into the probable cause of the crashed aircraft of Associated Airline in Lagos, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said yesterday.

    The probe of the crash by AIB, according to the Acting Director-General of NCAA, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, is to allow the body to ascertain the circumstances that led to the crash, including the regulatory work carried out by the NCAA on the aircraft.

    Addressing a press briefing yesterday at the crisis centre located at NCAA Annex at the Lagos Airport, Adamu said the regulatory body would not speak further on the crash to enable AIB carry out its statutory responsibility.

    He said it would be unprofessional for NCAA to give out details that could jeopardise investigation, as one of the agencies to be investigated in the crash.

    He said only the AIB is mandated to give details of what might have caused the crash when it consolidates on preliminary investigations into the cause of the crash.

    Adamu said issues bordering on the competence of the crew, the state of the aircraft before it crashed as well as the flight cycle of the aircraft could only be ascertained from the AIB preliminary report it is mandated to release very soon.

    He said: “The Associated Aviation aircraft that crashed was a 30-seater airplane manufactured by Embraer S. A Brazil and registered in Nigeria on May 22, 2007.

    “The airline holds a subsisting air operators certificate and currently conducts only charter operations.

    “The aircraft had a current certificate of airworthiness till October 22, 2013. Our records show that the airline has an insurance policy that is valid until June 14, 2014.

    “Before the ill-fated flight, the airline last operated the EMB 120 Extended Range aircraft with registration number 5N- BJY aircraft in a charter flight on August 22, 2013.

    “The aircraft was certified fit for flight by the airline’s aircraft maintenance engineers prior to departure, who were also on board the ill-fated flight.”