Concerns Over Runway Incursions As NCAA Issues Weather Alert
Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace, and aviation authorities have upped the ante towards preventing future occurrence of runway incursions and improving safe flight operations. This followed recent incident of an Air Peace aircraft which overshot the runway of Port Harcourt International Airport on Saturday last week.The airline involved said, yesterday, that it has made it a tradition to double the training requirement stipulated by the regulatory authorities for its pilots and other crew members.
The intent, it said, was to boost the confidence of members of the flying public about the airline’s commitment to safe flight operations devoid of any compromise. Chief Pilot of the airline, Capt. Victor Egonu, spoke with newsmen against the backdrop of recent incident involving its aircraft which overshot the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa Rivers State.
This is just as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it has commenced an intensive re-assessment of runways at the nation’s airports. “This move is aimed at improving on the efficiency of the facilities, thereby forestalling potential accidents on runways”, spokesperson of the authority, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu said.
She said although the regular friction measurement for Port Harcourt International Airport was conducted in March 2019 and the result fell within the minimum friction coefficient level, the facility witnessed a skidding incident recently. “It is therefore with the intention to increase the friction coefficient levels of our runways in accordance with NCAA advisory circular that the authority is embarking on this exercise across the nation’s airports as the rain is becoming very heavy and unpredictable,” Mrs. Yakubu added.
During the Port Harcourt incident currently being investigated by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) as required by law, passengers were calmly evacuated without any of them hurt. The chief pilot, who blamed the incident on the heavy downpour at the airport, said its crew handled the situation professionally to the extent of receiving applause from the passengers who were all calm all through the incident.
He hinted that the runway in Port Harcourt Airport had encountered series of challenges in recent times. “In Port Harcourt, we have a very old runway. They have this depression on the runway that tends to hold water. It doesn’t drain very well,” he said. Meanwhile, the NCAA has called on pilots and airline operators to exercise extreme caution during flight operations due to the commencement of the rainy season with the attendant thunderstorms.
NCAA also notified intending air travellers and airline operators “to note that in line with Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) may temporarily close airspace during inclement weather conditions”. According to the NCAA, the rainy season which is torrential, is prevalent in the Southern and Northern parts of Nigeria and it is usually accompanied by severe thunderstorms which could impact the safety of flight operations.
The General Manager, Public Relations of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, explained that there are many hazardous weather occurrences such as severe turbulence, microburst or low level wind-shear and occasionally hail events that are bound to affect air navigation. The regulatory authority therefore directs all pilots to recourse to utmost restraint whenever adverse weather is observed or forecast by Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET).
