The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau has instructed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority to reassess Dana Air Limited’s training program and standard operating procedures.
The review is aimed at emphasizing the importance of Crew Resource Management and Threat and Error Management in handling abnormal or emergency situations.
This directive was announced in a virtual news conference on Thursday, during which the NSIB released four incident and accident reports along with 20 safety recommendations.
The conference featured NSIB’s Director-General, Capt. Alex Badeh, and Director of Transport Investigation, Mr. Abdullahi Babanya.
The NSIB specified, “The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)should ensure that Dana Air Limited adheres to standard phraseology in communicating indication malfunctions during abnormal or emergency operations. NCAA should ensure Dana Air Limited comply with timely use of Checklist / Quick Reference Handbook particularly at critical phases of flight when dealing with abnormal and emergency situations in line with standard company operating procedures.”
Tthe Bureau also recommended that the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency should ensure Air Traffic Controllers insist on the use of specific malfunction terminology, such as ‘indicated system malfunction,’ rather than vague terms like ‘gear disagree.’
These recommendations were prompted by a preliminary report on a serious incident involving a Dana MD-82 aircraft with registration marks 5N-BKl at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on April 23.
The preliminary report also detailed the tragic death of Nollywood actor Johnpaul Odonwodo, known as Junior Pope, and four other Nollywood personalities on April 10.
Their boat, carrying 12 movie production crew members, capsized in the Anam River after colliding with a local fishing canoe.
The report said, “The speed boat capsized and all occupants were flung into the Anam River. Five passengers were fatally injured and seven were rescued alive. The NSIB was not officially notified but got to know about the accident through social media. Investigators from the Enugu Regional office of NSIB were dispatched to the accident site on April 12, 2024. The boat driver was not certified. The fibre boat was not registered with the National Inland Waterways Authority.”
The report further noted that rowdiness distracted the driver, preventing him from maintaining proper lookout, and only one of the 12 passengers was wearing a life jacket, which he brought himself.
In addition to this incident, the NSIB released final reports on two other aviation incidents. One involved an Embraer 145 LR Aircraft operated by Air Peace Limited, which occurred at Kaduna (civil) airport on January 14, 2021.
The other was a ground collision between a lavatory service truck operated by Skyway Aviation Handling Co. Plc (SAHCO) and a parked Boeing 737-300 aircraft owned by Max Air Limited, which occurred on November 21, 2021.
Director-General Bade emphasized that the publication of these reports reaffirms NSIB’s dedication to enhancing safety and preventing future incidents.
