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By Chinelo Obogo
Commissioner, Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency ( BAGAIA), Charles Erhueh, has said that the Regional Accident Investigation Organisation (RAIO) does not charge for investigating accidents it is called on to probe as it is against the statutes of its formation.
This is just as he has reiterated that the challenge of fund remittances from yearly subscription by member states hinders some of its planned projects outlined for execution.
He made this clarification at the International Accident Investigation Forum held at the Singapore Aviation Academy recently while responding to Director, Transport Safety Investigation Bureau ( TSIB), Singapore, Mr. Chong Chow Wah stressing that the agency was set up by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO) not as a revenue generating agency but a safety inclined one.
“BAGAIA is not formed to charge countries they help investigate accidents. For example, the accident involving Cavok Airlines CVK 7087 AN-74TK-100 Aircraft registered Ur-CKC, which occurred at Sao Tome International Airport in 2017 and delegated to BAGAIA even though it was not a member, but BAGAIA responded to that investigation in collaboration with the Nigeria AIB without any payment from Sao Tome and the investigation has been concluded and released,” he said.
Also on whose responsibility it is to release a final accident report of any investigation delegated to BAGAIA, citing Sao Tome, Irikefe said that the report was released in the country of occurrence that delegated the investigation.
Speaking further during his presentation, the BAGAIA Commissioner stressed the importance of training, stating that in collaboration with partners like Instituto de Prevencao a Investigacao de Acidentes Aeronauticos e Maritimos (IPIAAM) it has trained not less than 26 participants in a bid to groom a generation that will take over from the experienced but aging workforce.
He also said a safety workshop was organised with the cooperation of IPIAAM, African Union ( AU) and the European Union( EU) under the EU – Aviation Safety for Africa ( EU-ASA) where 65 participants were trained from various regions.
Also at the session was the Director of Transport Systems from Cranfield University, Prof. Graham Braithwaite, who spoke on new aerospace technology challenges for investigators.
Braithwaite listed and explained some major change drivers to include the society itself, technology, environment, economy and politics stressing that some of these things will influence the perspectives from global population growth driven by Africa and Asia to shifting ethnic, political and religious identity.
