How we achieved zero accident in 2017 – NCAA DG
Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authrity, Captain Muktar Usman said the year 2017 was a safe year for aviation in Nigeria as the sector recorded no accident in the commercial schedules.
He said this was the same feat achieved in 2016, adding that the regulatory authority would further consolidate on the achievements in 2018.
Daily Trust reports that the only incidents recorded were those concerned with aircraft within the tarmac.
Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Usman attributed the feat to the implementation of requisite safety programmes by all authorities concerned, saying the authority kept close tap on airlines to do the right thing.
According to him, reports of accidents released in the previous year also helped to deepen safety programmes in the sector.
He said, “It was through a lot of hard work, training and surveillance, inspections and we want to do more on that this year.
“Last year also, we were able to work very hard in the retention of the Category One Federal Aviation certification for Nigeria, it is one thing to attain, it is another to sustain. Our pledge this year is that we would continue to sustain whatever certification we have and also to build on the successes we recorded last year”.
Globally figures from two reports indicated that 2017 was the safest year in commercial aviation history, with no fatal large passenger jet accidents, although lives were lost in regional crashes.
The Aviation Safety Network (ASN), a Netherlands-based company associated with the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), reported a total of 10 fatal accidents in 2017, resulting in the deaths of 44 people on board and 35 on the ground.
Five of those were cargo flights, while the remaining five were non-jet passenger flights. The figures are based on worldwide fatal accidents involving commercial aircraft, certified to carry 14 or more passengers. and cargo aircraft
ASN said the 2017 figure of one fatality per 7.36 million flights was “extremely low,” resulting in the safest year ever for commercial aviation, both in terms of the number of fatal accidents and the number of lives lost. In 2016, ASN recorded 16 accidents with 303 fatalities.
“On Dec. 31, aviation had a record period of 398 days with no passenger jet airliner accidents. Additionally, a record period of 792 days passed since the previous civil aircraft accident claiming over 100 lives,” ASN said.