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By Chinelo Obogo
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB-N) said that it would soon launch a digitalised accident investigation reporting system, which would be the first of its kind in the world.
Commissioner of the AIB-N, Akin Olateru, said this during an ‘Industry Engagement on the review of Accident Reports’ event in Abuja. He said the AIB has improved the conventional air accident and incident reporting system as stipulated in the Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendations, to a digitalised reporting system, which no country in the world has attained as far as accidents and incidents investigation and prevention reporting is concerned.
“The fact is the global standard, which is ICAO already has a reporting format of final reports that is hundred pages presented to the world and on its website.
What we are trying to do is to challenge the status quo, to actually find a better way of getting this to the public. Today, how many people are reading reports (accidents and incidents)?
“What we are trying to do is to digitalise in a graphic way with a data base of the same reports. We are going to be doing that very soon, to make it easier for the airlines to read, for anybody of interest to go to a particular section rather than flipping through pages of documents. If it is on human factors, you just click on the graphic and it will tell you everything on human factors.
“The essence is about simplifying the way we communicate with the rest of the world in terms of our by-product and it has been discussed at the highest level at ICAO and its being accepted. By the time we are done, Nigeria will be the first in the world that would come up with this format. That is what I mean by Nigeria will lead the world very soon in terms of accident investigation reporting system.
“For any institution to progress and remain relevant, you need to invest in Research and Development, you need to have a feedback system to evaluate, re-evaluate how you do things; check your process and procedures and come up with better ways of doing things or a simplified way of doing things to enhance productivity and that is what we are doing in AIB.
“We are going through our procurement stage and should be ready before the end of the year that that would come on stage. Saudi Arabia has shown interest and it is partnering with us on this project because it would change the world in terms of Annex 13 of Accident investigation.
“We will have a platform whereby airlines and stakeholders will subscribe. You will have access to it to train your pilots, engineers and stakeholders in the industry. The press too can have access to it to update their information or satisfy their enquiries with a nominal fee.
