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NCAA may compel domestic carriers to install trackers

By BusinessNews Staff on March 2, 2015

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is set to force domestic airlines to install adequate tracking devices on their airplanes.

Investigation revealed that the decision was prompted by the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, whose whereabouts are still unknown almost a year after it went missing.

A source in the Ministry of Aviation, who disclosed this to our correspondent, said all airlines operating in the country must install on their planes tracking equipment that would capture the movement of the aircraft and relay same to the regulatory body.

He added that this was in conformity with the new regulation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The source, who chose to speak under the condition of anonymity, said, “It is believed that if the Malaysian aircraft was properly tracked, it would have been monitored to know exactly where it was before it disappeared and what might have led to its disappearance; much of what is known about the aircraft today is a mere conjecture.

“Soon, the NCAA will make it compulsory that every airline operating in Nigeria must install in its fleet tracking equipment that will capture the movement of the aircraft and relay same to the regulatory body.”

The International Air Transport Association and ICAO have come up with a new rule that civil aviation authorities must make it compulsory for every aircraft to have tracking equipment and also ensure that aircraft are monitored.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, IATA, Mr. Tony Tyler, said the new rule would continue the industry’s successful record of working with governments to improve safety through global harmonisation.

He said, “We are all moving in the same direction. The conference conclusions should be a reassurance to all travellers that safety is always aviation’s top priority.

“The essence of the ICAO recommendation is for aircraft to report their positions every 15 minutes during normal operations.”

Tyler said the rule applied only to remote areas not covered by surveillance by air traffic services.

Efforts by our correspondent to get an official confirmation from the NCAA did not yield results as the General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, did not pick his calls or respond to text messages sent to his mobile telephone.

The NCAA had a few years back embarked on the total radar coverage of the country but the project is taking for ever to complete.

However, the regulatory agency is planning to install more sophisticated tracking equipment, which the airlines must emulate by installing monitoring devices in their aircraft.

An industry analyst, Capt. Ado Sanusi, commended the idea but insisted that it was not the responsibility of the agency, rather that of the airlines to install tracking devices on their aircraft in order to know the movement of the planes.

“I think it will mitigate the disappearing incident that happened with the MH370 last year. When there is an unfortunate incident like that, we can pinpoint where it happened and we can go for search and rescue,” Sanusi said.

[Punch]

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