The summary of the final report of the Presidential Task Force on Aviation Industry submitted by the Task Force team headed by Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike (rtd) on March 2006

Continues from yesterday

IN an industry where continuity is the watchword and experience the very foundation upon which it is built, frequent changes of its personnel, particularly on the top echelon, have not augured well for the industry.

3.4.5 Appointment of Chief Executives and key staff of the agencies under the ministry are said to have been politicised, with every aviation minister appointing his own set of chief executives and key personnel of the parastatals.

This has resulted in unnecessary wastage of experienced and qualified manpower due to premature disengagements/retirements whilst taking on board persons whose competence on the job is doubtful, or questionable.

Air Vice Marshal Paul Dike (rtd), chairman, Presidential Task Force on Aviation Industry

3.4.7 The Task Force was informed and has received petitions to the effect that after every ugly aviation incident, scapegoats are hurriedly identified and booted out under the guise of reorganisation; instead of conducting a thorough invetigation, identifying the real culprits and appropriately sanctioning them. The discontent among the staff of the agencies is caused by the fact that those who are really guilty may be left untouched while innocent people have had their careers unjustifiably truncated. It has also robbed the agency of competent hands who have been trained over the years and who would otherwise have been available to render the much desired professional services to the agencies.

3.4.8 Another problem is the apprehensions of staff over what is now perceived as arbitrariness on the part of senior management  with respect to labour issues namely career advancement and job security among others. In aviation a disgruntled worker, the saying goes, is an accident waitng to happen.

Sense of belonging

The Task Force is of the view that staff of  the organisation need a sense of belonging,  sense of purpose, job security, motivation in order to bring out their best. Discontent and apprehension do exactly the reverse.

NIGERIAN DIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (NCAA)

The Civil Aviation Act of 1964 vests in the Honourable Minister of Aviation the power to make regulations in respect of air. travel.

The NCAA decree empowers the board of the Authority to make regulations. ICAO  prescribes that:

(a) Member states should establish a civil aviation authority;

(b) authority and responsibility  to develop, issue and revise operating regulators and rules consistent with the code of air navigation is in the hand of the aviation authority.

© Enforcement of the code of air navigation regulations and rules should be done by the civil aviation authority.

3.5.2 It is worthy of note that ICAO had advised Nigeria to properly delegate authority and corresponding responsibilities over the aviation sector to a Civil Aviation Authority; (ICAO comments on Civil Aviation Policy of Nigerian 1998).

3.5.3 Existing institutional arrangements in the aviation sector are not in conformity with ICAO SAARPs. The fact that the various enactments setting up the aviation parastatals are still in force, coupled with the current set up at the Ministry of Aviation effectively diminishes/dilutes the role of the NCAA as industry regulator.

3.5.4 It is worthy of note that the proposed civil aviation bill, tries to streamline some of the apparent duplications and role conflicts between the Ministry of Aviation and NCAA on the one hand and, between NCAA and the other aviation agencies on the other hand. The bill is yet to become law. There is also the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) version of the bill which is significantly different from version of the bill authored by the Federal Ministry of Aviation. Meanwhile, the following comments are based on the law as it is now.

3.5.5.                     Within the NCAA itself, several factors have been identified as major impediments to its effective regulation of the aviation industry, in accordance with existing legislation and ICAO SARPs.

Dearth of qualified

manpower

(I) There is a dearth of suitably qualified manpower; to perform core functions in the technical departments of the agency. The Task Force determined that the manning level at the technical departments of NCAA were very poor. In the Flight Operations Department, the pilot employed were found to be very few in number and mostly unqualified.  Some   of the NCAA pilots could not pass their simulator checks, yet they were retained as inspectors or in the Flight Calibration Unit.

Pilots who could not pas their simulator checks should not be used to inspect other pilots or simulators, as they cannot command the respect of their peers. In the Airworthiness Department very few of the inspectors had relevant practical experience or licence. Unlicensed engineers were given responsibility to inspect airplanes for issuance of certificate of airworthiness and certificate of maintenance. The inspectors were perpetually globtrotting to carry out inspections. Some inspections that could be combined were split. An inspector would not combine the inspections of airplanes in the same country. He would rather collect an allowance for  seven or 10 days to inspect one airplane and return the next week to inspect the other. Respected  pilots in the industry or outside Nigeria should be brought in and in their correct numbers to man the Flight Operations and Licensing Division. Respected maintenance engineers with relevant practical background could be brought in, trained in inspection functions and injected into NCAA.

(ii)Frequent changes of headship and politicisation of key appointments within the agency have led to the loss, over time, of competent and experienced personnel.

ix) Staff told the Task Force that collective decisions of aviation safety inspectors are not respected and dissenting views are not subjected to further investigation.

x) The Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) issued to airline operator.S are not audited.

(xi) Poor attitude to  commitment and dedication to duty.

(xii) NCAA has  not really shown serious commitment towards  the collection of dues from airlines, despite the facts that  NCAA has unmet  budgetary commitments and its debtors are right  doorstep.

Institutionalising

mediocrity

(xiii)The Agency has been accused by its staff and industry analysts of institutionalising mediocrity by adopting an improper rewarding system which places unproductive  staff over and above hard working and dedicated ones.

(ivx) The pay and conditions of service of NCAA in relation to what obtains in the industry which the agency regulate  does not provide morale among its staff .

NIGERIAN AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT AGENCY (NAMA)

NAMA is responsible for the provision of Air Navigation Services within the Nigerian Airspace. This includes Air Traffic Control, Aeronautical communications. Navigational-Aids, Equipment  calibration, Aeronautical Information Services, and Aeronautical Search and Rescue.

The Task Force found that the agency had several deficiencies such as:

(i)   NAMA has experienced lack of stability of leadership and the problems of lack of continuity due to improper succession of its leadership, and within its departments.

(ii) At the airports visited, the Task Force found that NAMA equipment and facilities, including terminal radar, were not available, and where available, not serviceable.

(iii) Poor maintenance of available equipment and faciities, as seen from the number of non-functional facilities at the airports.

(iv) The technical staff complained of inadequate remuneration; inadequate trainng and lack of advancement.

(v) The staff records show that agency work force is ageing, and, that there is a shortage of Air Traffic Controllers due to non-recruitment of cadets for many years, whilst the Administrative and Finance staff over bloated.

(vi) At most of the airports, the agency still uses out-dated methods in disseminating aeronautical Information to prospective users including pilots.

(vii) The Task Force found that there is waste of resources of NAMA through misapplication of budgetary provisions to non-payment essential items to the detriment/up keep of vital equipment, facilities and staff welfare.

(viii) NAMA has not adequately performed its assigned  role in Aeronautical Search and Rescue. The role expected of each major stakeholder including relevant units of the military and paramilitary, NAF, and other organization, neighbouring states and local governments: MoUs with neighbouring countries for on-boarders operations, in the event of an emergency are not specified. What is each group to do? etc  need to be all streamlined.

NIGERIAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY (NIMET)

In aviation, weather has remained an important parameter in determining safety, reglarity and efficiency of aviation operations. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) bulletin of October, 1995 reported that 40% of all general aviation accidents are weather related. And that of 80% of commercial transport aircraft accidents which had occurred during take-off and landing, a significant proportion occurred  in, or near, thunderstorms. Airlines have therefore adopted strict procedures of evaluating meteorological observations and forecasts. There are now automated warning and delivery  systems capable of combining data sources to improve forecasts. With this, one can determine the nature and severity  of weather, the short-time scales involved in its formation, development and involvement of conventional systems, including wind shear hail and downstairs.

3.7.2.                     It is also common knowledge-among aviators that wind shear in the terminal area associated with conventional clouds and thunderstorms can cause aircraft accidents.

3.7.3.                       The aviation industry in Nigerian depends on NIMET for its weather reports to ensure safe operation of aircrafts. NIMET should therefore be in a position to provide the industry very accurate weather reports and forecasts, and regularly up-date same.

Updated weather reports/forecasts

However, the Task Force has established that NIMET currently lacks the resources (human and material) to provide the type of comprehensive, accurate, and regularly updated weather reports/forecasts. There are several reasons for this.

(I)   Although NIMET has a good number of observation stations across the whole country, including most airports, the equipment available is either obsolete, or ouserviceable, or poorly located.

(II)Modern, automated warning and delivery systems, capable of generating comprehensive  accurate, up-to-date weather reports/forecasts are not available even at the key airports and weather stations.

(III)The use of electronic devices such as Runway Visual Range (RVR) is yet to be provided for.

(IV)Majority of the field staff have not enjoyed training and retraining for a very long time.

(V)There are allegations of financial impropriety in the application of NIMET resources. Whilst its equipment and facilities  remain out of service for long, the agency is said to be spending huge amount on non-essential items/overheads.

3.8 FEDERAL AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF NIGERIA (FAAN)

3.8.1 The law establishing FAAN empowers the agency to develop, provide and maintain airports and all necessary services and facilities for the safe, orderly, expeditious and economic operation of air transport. The Authority presently manages and maintains 19 functional airports. The airports and their facilities are discussed in detail in this report. However, it is instructive to note that:

(I) None of the 19 functional airports, including the four International airport at Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt, met the desired ICAO SARPs for its categorization. The airports all had equipment and facility deficiencies requiring substantial investment to bring them to the desired standard.

(ii) The deficiencies in Runways, Taxiways, and Aprons; street lighting systems; airconditioning systems; telecommunications and electronic equipment etc were due largely to poor maintenance.

(iii) The Management of Jos, Calabar and Katsina airports were commended by the Task Force for exemplary and innovative leadership, despite the deficiencies at these airports.