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By Chinelo Obogo
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has said that Tropical Arctic Logistics (TAL) ;is yet to meet the requirements for the renewal of its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) as it currently does not have three out of four key nominated post holders.
Responding to the exclusive interview the Chief Operating Officer of TAL Mr. Femi Adeniji granted Daily Sun last week, where he accused the regulatory agency of refusing to renew its AOC for 18 months, the Director General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said that it will not compromise in enforcing safety standards, regulatory requirements and ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in the initial issuance and renewal of all AOC’s irrespective of the personality or organisation involved.
The DG said that in addition, the operator is yet to comply with COVID-19 Industry Restart Program like all other industry players did before receiving approval to resume operations and that its AOC will be renewed when the requirements have been satisfactorily met.
Capt. Nuhu further stated the five phase AOC process (both initial and renewal) is not peculiar to Nigeria as it is an ICAO requirement (ICAO Annex 6 Parts I and III and ICAO Document 8335) which is captured in Nig.CARS 2015 Part 9 on AOC Certification. He said the strict regulations are to ensure only qualified applicants are granted AOC and that it is one of the main reasons Nigeria attained FAA IASA Category 1 in the first instance.
The NCAA boss further stated that the manufacturer’s recommendations as alluded to by Adeniji are just “recommendations” which can neither override nor replace regulations based on ICAO SARPS and Annexes and that no manufacturer has the authority to issue an extension approval without the knowledge and approval of Civil Aviation Authorities which ultimately responsible for the safety of flight operations. Extensions are the prerogative of CAAs period.
“On the matter of non-renewal of TAL’s AOC the NCAA helmsman categorically stated that TAL fell short in meeting the requirements for the renewal the AOC as it currently does not have three out of four key nominated post holders. The missing key personnel include the Director of Maintenance, Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilot. In addition the operator is yet to comply with COVID-19 Industry Restart Program like all other industry players did before receiving approval to resume operations. TAL’s AOC will be renewed when these requirements have been satisfactorily met. Nig.CARS 2015 were established with the participation and consultation of all industry stakeholders and must be complied with to the full extent until such a time there is a review of the regulations. This the reason for name Nigerian Civil Regulations (Nig.CARS) rather than NCAA Regulations,” Nuhu said.
Narrating how some of the reasons why TAL’s renewal application was denied, Capt. Nuhu said during a Certificate of Airworthiness Inspection of the operator’s AW139 Helicopter with registration 5N-BVQ in June 2020, it was discovered that machine was being operated with a component (Tank Foam) that was overdue for replacement. He said a review of the records showed that the OEM, Leonardo Helicopters had supplied TAL with all replacements kits and advised the operator to contact NCAA for extension but that NCAA was neither contacted for an extension nor the Tank Foam was replaced.
He said an enforcement action was taken by the issuance of a Letter of Investigation (LOI) and the requirement of compliance with OEM’s recommendations and the maintenance repairs and replacement of the Tank Foam was performed by Aero Contractors and some serious defects were identified and fixed.
The DG said if Mr. Adeniji has any evidence of either corruption or any corrupt practices he should file a complaint with relevant authorities for investigations and follow-up actions saying “it is sad the COO of TAL took it upon himself to illegally record the official discussion with an NCAA staff for reasons best known to him, this matter was resolved at a police station with Mr. Adeniji giving an unreserved apology.”
Also responding to Adeniji’s statement that NCAA personnel trained at Ukraine University neither had industry experience nor competent to effectively perform their duties, Capt. Nuhu gave examples of two prominent Nigerians amongst several others who had trained in Ukraine and performed creditably well.
“Dr. OB Aliu and Dr. Harold Demuren two globally recognised and respected personalities for their antecedents served in NCAA as a Director and Director General. Dr. OB Aliu served as two-term President of the Council of ICAO the apex global civil aviation body. In addition all inspectors irrespective of their prior qualifications and or experience must undergo comprehensive training programme under the Inspector Training System (ITS). This includes five mandatory courses, appropriate specialized courses and On-The-Job-Training,” he said.
Capt. Nuhu said NCAA was is not a perfect entity and has its own peculiar challenges and difficulties though there is room for improvement. One major challenge he said, is that of manual processes in the authority that can cumbersome, inefficient and difficult.
He assured that management has recognised these shortcomings and has developed plans to digititalise its documentation and automate its internal processes not only for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness but most importantly to deal with the rapid growth of the domestic industry.
“The plan amongst other include the acquisition of Safety Oversight Management System (currently in procurement) which forms the backbone of several CAAs. The implementation of this system is expected to start in the 4th quarter of this year. Other measures including the implementation of a Quality Management System, ISO 9001 Certification together with Technical Quality Assurance. Change management ranks high in the successful implementation of these plans and it is being given the appropriate level of attention and resources.
“We extend our hand of friendship to all industry players for the benefit of the nation. NCAA is a partner in progress rather than the proverbial industry policeman. The Authority is ready and willing to work with all parties to resolve any challenge or difficulty they may face as it has already done with many,” Capt. Nuhu said.
