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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been called upon to checkmate indiscriminate drone operations by uncertified persons in the country.
An NCAA-approved ARCO Aviation Academy made the call at the graduation of 12 of its students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday.
Chief Instructor of the Academy, Samuel Sunday, in his speech said NCAA should ensure that certified persons enter the drone domain to make the airspace safe.
Sunday said the Academy being the foremost certified drone training school by NCAA in the country, is concerned about the safety of air users and growth of Nigerian aviation industry.
He emphasized that without proper checks by relevant regulatory authorities, the airspace would be at risk of interference.
He stated: “ARCO Aviation Academy is the first certified drone-training school in Nigeria which is accredited and certified by Nigeria Civil Aviation NCAA and it is the first to have received an Approved Aviation Organisation (AAO) certification by NCAA.
“With the demand for pilots going abroad, going outside the country to get the remote pilot certification, that’s the drone pilot certification, ARCO Worldwide Services came up with the need to create an institution that will allow Nigerians to stay within the country and have this certification.”
According to Sunday, the institution subsidized the cost of getting certification seamlessly to boost the revenue generation for the country.
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“ARCO now came up with the idea of building its own school, so that it will keep all the revenue within and also train its own drone pilots and other pilots from other companies to get the certification with ease, without spending much and without going out of the country.
“Today, we are graduating the second set of the visual line of sight pilots, that’s the VLOS pilot. We have graduated the first set which is the 001 RPC, they are four in number and in the second set, we have 12, totaling 16 in number.
Sunday, however, charged them to exhibit professionalism in their operations, maintain ethical standards and be good ambassadors of the institution.
He also charged them to always prioritize safety of members of the public, warning that erring drone pilots would be sanctioned by relevant regulatory authorities.
Sunday said: “I expect them to go out there to first of all, make us proud by flying the banner of ARCO Aviation Academy wide and high.
“I expect them to fly with every knowledge, skill and good attitude that they have acquired from this institution in portraying every activity they do in their different companies and even in the community, in the general public.”
The chief instructor expressed optimism for the technological advancement of drone operators and the need to grow Nigeria’s economy, adding: “The future of drones in Nigeria and in the world at large is very wide because the industry itself is just coming up in Nigeria. So, it basically means that there’s a lot to be acquired and there’s a lot to be done in the drone space.”
One of the newly certified drone pilots, Achimugu Ukwenya, expressed satisfaction with the experience he garnered within the three-week intensive training.
He said the tutorial had broadened his knowledge of the drone domain, and would help him operate within the professionally acceptable standard.
