Aero breaks record, test runs first locally maintained aircraft
History was made yesterday when a Nigerian carrier completed a comprehensive check on an aircraft.
The feat was achieved by Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest indigenous carrier, through its Maintenance Organization which was approved by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in September, 2017.
Aero Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility came on stream exactly 14 years after the liquidation of the former national carrier, Nigeria Airways, which used to carry out maintenance checks on wide-bodied aircraft.
However, Aero at its facility located at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA) successfully carried out maintenance check on one of the aircrafts in its fleet, Boeing 737 classics with the registration number 5N-BLG.
The airline also completed a test flight on the aircraft which was piloted by Captain Gabriel Ayeni with co-pilot Wale Awojebe and C-Check Manager, Engineer Claude and the crew.
Managing Director of the airline, Capt. Ado Sanusi disclosed that its engineers worked on the aircraft while its pilots successfully carried out verification flight on the plane.
He explained that the entire management was satisfied with the outcome of the check, stressing that the result of the check was more satisfactory than the checks carried out on their airplanes outside the country.
Daily Trust reports that the AMO is expected to save Nigerian carriers huge amount of money in foreign exchange as no fewer than 24 Boeing 737 aircraft are owned by Nigerian airline operators.