Stories by Chinelo Obogo    [email protected]

Four years after the Federal Government installed a Boeing 737NG aircraft simulator at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, the equipment is yet to be certified and as such has not been operational, Daily Sun can confirm.

Daily Sun had previously reported that the Boeing simulator, originally scheduled for delivery to Nigeria in December 2016, was delayed due to late payments from the Nigerian government. It was finally delivered in 2020.

Already, tongues are wagging as to why the expensive acquisition is being left to rot away.

Stakeholders emphasise that Nigeria is currently missing out on significant income that could have been generated if the simulator had been utilised. Analysts estimate that with the simulator in operation, the country could save up to $4 million annually on pilots’ training, in addition to eliminating expenses for hotels and travel.

Just before his removal from office, the former rector of the institution, Capt. Alkali Modibbo, explained to aviation journalists that the underutilisation of the simulator was due to the arrival of the containers containing all the necessary platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that while the contract for the simulator was awarded under Stella Oduah’s tenure as Minister of Aviation, the equipment was only received when Hadi Sirika was in office. The primary goal of the purchase, he added, was to curb the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for such training, thereby saving valuable foreign exchange.

He revealed that by the time the simulator was fully set up, the certification it received from the United States had already expired. He further explained that the school’s management approached the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for certification, but the regulatory body stated that, at the time, they lacked the capacity to certify the simulators.

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He added, however, that instructors were undergoing training and assured that the issue would soon be resolved.

“We tried to get certification for the stimulator. We went to Canada, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). A particular company wanted to charge us over 300,000 euros just to get a certificate on the aircraft, which was too expensive.  Then, we agreed to train NCAA and NCAT technical staff on the aircraft simulator. So, we got two engineers each from NCAA and NCAT and another two pilots each from the two agencies to train them,” Modibbo said.

Currently, only a handful of domestic airlines, such as Arik Air and Air Peace, operate the 737. As a result, Daily Sun has learned that if the simulator is eventually certified, the school will need to actively market it to foreign airlines and organizations to maximise its potential.

The chairman of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Air Chapter, Mudi Muhammed, told Daily Sun the stimulator is still in Zaria and that from what he knows, there are still no certified instructors for it and that is  one of the reasons why it has not been used till date.

He said if the stimulator was functioning, clients from within and outside Nigeria would flock to NCAT and the country will generate huge revenue from it.

He said Nigeria has certified instructors who can be deployed on part time basis to NCAT and also suggested that the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development could improve the runway inside NCAT and the Civil Aviation Authority can give approval for commercial airlines to operate small aircraft like Q400 so that anyone who wants to go to the school for the stimulator  training from within and outside Nigeria can do so.

“One of the reasons why the stimulator in Zaria has not been operational is because there are no certified instructors for it. If the stimulator was functioning, clients from within and outside Nigeria would flock to NCAT and the country will generate huge revenue from it. We can start operating this equipment because we have certified instructors who can be deployed to get the it certified. We have Capt. Ebenezer Adu-Awuah, Capt. Adetokunbo Adekumbi both of Arik Air and also Capt. Abdullah Muhamud. They are certified Boeing 737 stimulator instructors who can be deployed to carry out this responsibility at NCAT on part time basis. Before you certify the stimulator, you have to have then facilities and certified instructors on ground and these people mentioned can get the job done. I also suggest that the government should improve the runway inside NCAT so that we can have commercial airlines that can run small aircraft like Q400 so that anyone who wants to go to the school for the stimulator can fly from Lagos or Abuja straight to Zaria and that resolves the issue of security,” he said.