Dana’s sudden return
September 10, 2012
By Dana Onwukwe
The decision of the Federal Government to lift the suspension of the licence of Dana Air, has come to many as a big surprise. The licence is known in the aviation sector as Air Operators Certificate (AOC), This has come barely three months after the airline’s MD-83 Flight 0992, from Abuja to Lagos crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood of Iju-Ishaga on June 3. All passengers on board, including crewmembers, were killed. Many families lost multiple members in the crash.
Tears over the tragedy are still flowing, as family members are still grieving the death of loved ones. But, as many Nigerians are still having their mouths in their hearts over the restoration of the airline’s licence, government has stoutly defended its decision, saying its action to suspend Dana’s licence on June 5, two days after the ill-fated crash, was an error in the first place, and against global aviation practices. Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah said the best government could have done then was to isolate the particular aircraft involved in the crash and carry out the necessary investigations.
She gave the explanation on a Channels TV breakfast programme last Friday. According to the minister, government also hinged its decision following its satisfaction with the “airworthiness of the airline after a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit of the airline”. The aviation minister who shed uncontrollable tears on that fateful black Sunday, June 3, while inspecting the site of the crash, however stated that while government continues to “share in the pain and loss of the families of those who lost their loved ones in the crash, we want to stress that we took this decision with all sense of responsibility”.
Days before the suspension of the airline’s licence was lifted, the management of Dana Air had mounted a blitz lobbying campaign, appealing to government and the aviation authorities to lift the suspension. It cited its diligence in the payment of compensation to bereaved families as well as the preliminary accident report of the ill-fated plight which purportedly absolved the carrier of any culpability in the crash. The preliminary accident investigation was headed by Capt Muhtar Usman, who is also the Chief Executive officer of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
Captain Usman’s report, upon which government said it based its decision on, had claimed that its investigation covered, among other things, a visual examination of the aircraft’s wreckage as well as a detailed review of maintenance records and other historical information of the ill-fated aircraft, and did not find any adverse condition that could result in the crash. Using that to strengthen its argument for lifting the suspension of the airlines licence, the Aviation Minister said, “it is therefore wrong to shut down the operations of the airline”. In arriving at the decision, she said government did “segment, separate and segregate” all the issues involved in the air crash. She however assured that government would continue to strengthen its oversight regulatory functions in order to ensure that all airlines operating in the country, including Dana, adhere strictly to safety procedures as required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act, and other relevant local and international regulations that will ensure air safety.
What is the implication of this? It means that Dana Air has been given a clean bill of health to resume commercial flight operations, subject to a final clearance by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). In that regard, the Director General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren had told Daily Sun last week that plans are underway for all the aircrafts in Dana fleet to go through a re-certification process. In the words of NCAA boss, “yes, government has lifted the ban
. We are working with Dana to close up other items.” He insists that this is a normal practice. But a lot of people perceive some “abnormal” practices in the sudden rush to lift the licence of the airline. It raises some pertinent questions: why the rush to re-admit Dana Air into Nigerian airspace when many bereaved families are yet to get over the trauma occasioned by the death of loved ones? Why lift the suspension of the Licence when the government technical and administrative panel headed by Capt John Obakpolor (retd) is yet to submit its report? Will government action on Dana restore the much-needed confidence that the aviation sector is in dire need of, or deepen the anxiety by air travelers?
Many Nigerians, and indeed, stakeholders in the aviation sector believe that the way government has gone about the Dana affair is untidy. For, instance, the Obakpolor led nine – member probe panel was mandated, among other things, to assess the effectiveness of the regulatory authority in ensuring compliance with safety standards and to examine the management practices and safety culture of domestic scheduled carriers and make far reaching recommendations. The panel is far from concluding its work before government took the sails out of its investigation. Many concerned Nigerians believe that government decision may have prematurely terminated all investigations into the ill-fated crash. That, analysts say, will be a disservice to the memories of those who perished in the crash.
The general consensus is that government’s seeming haste in restoring the licence of Dana Air may foreclose the salient issues raised in the aftermath of the crash. One of such issues is the age limit of aircrafts in Nigerian domestic routes. It is public knowledge that that most aircrafts in Nigeria have an average age limit of 25 years. But the Minister said during African Aviation stakeholders conference in Abuja in July, that government was planning to set a 15 – year age limit for all aircrafts operating in Nigeria, in addition to a rigorous maintenance culture.
Has government sacrificed safety at the expense of extenuating factors such as employment opportunities which Dana Air is said to have offered some Nigerians? According to the chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body for airlines in the country, Dr Steve Mahonwu, Dana Air has about 540 employees, most of them Nigerians who were thrown into the labour market since the suspension of the airline from commercial operations three months ago. Which is why the management and staff of the airline have been clinging glasses since last week. However, not to be drowned by the euphoria, the CEO of the airline, Jacky Hathiramani assured that the management of the carrier has not forgotten the bereaved families and will continue to fulfill its obligations to them “fully as stipulated by law.”
While government maintains that it was not under any pressure to take the decision, it will take some time to soothe the pains and agonies of bereaved families. Already, many o them are accusing government of lack of compassion for their trauma. For now, government needs more explaining to do than it has done already. In an interview she granted Sunday Sun yesterday, the Aviation Minister acknowledged that the sensitive nature of the sector requires that any air crash be thoroughly investigated to prevent a re-occurrence. Anything short of that, she said, would not be accepted by international aviation authorities. And that puts the question back to her: has government done all that was necessary before lifting the suspension on Dana’s Air licence?
SOURCE: 10 September 2012.
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