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FAA advises NCAA on safety oversight

By on October 16, 2014

The Federal Airport Administration of the United States has urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority not to relent in the areas of safety and security of the nation’s aviation industry.

The FAA, in a letter signed by the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Ms. Margaret Gilligan, said that it was essential for the NCAA to make efforts to comply with global safety standards.

A statement by the NCAA on Tuesday stated that the letter, which was addressed to the Acting Director-General, NCAA, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka, urged the regulator to continue with steps that would improve the aviation industry in the country.

The FAA also used the opportunity to commend the Federal Government and the NCAA for the steps taken to ensure that the International Aviation Safety Assessment Category 1 status was retained.

It said, “We commend the NCAA for taking bold steps to retain the IASA’s Cat 1 after a rigorous exercise, and we applaud the commitment and hard work exhibited by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its safety oversight system resulting in positive findings and subsequently closing the gap with corrective actions leading to the overall success of achieving this great feat.

“We, however, urge the NCAA not to relent in its commitment to developing and maintaining effective safety oversight of Nigeria’s aviation industry as it looks forward to a continuing working relationship.”

It will be recalled that Nigeria first attained the Category One status in 2010 and retained it after the last re-certification exercise in September this year.

The US FAA had audited the aviation sector between March 31 and April 3, 2014. Following the audit, the NCAA was given 120 days to come up with an action plan to correct the deficiencies discovered in the nation’s aviation sector.

The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka, who was issued with the certificate in the United States, last month, said the retention of Category One Status was hard earned and promised that the government would continue to ensure that the country retained it and other future safety certifications in a seamless way.

The Category One certification audit, also known as the International Aviation Safety Assessment, is a programme established by the FAA with the purpose of ensuring that all aircraft operators registered outside the US that operate to or from the US are properly licenced and are subject to safety oversight provided by a competent civil aviation authority in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.

 

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