BusinessDay... the voice of business: Reps to probe missing plane

Reps to probe missing plane
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SOLA SHITTU on 25 March, 2008 12:00:00
 
Their investigation is spurred by the revelation that over N6-billion has been
spent on acquiring and installing radar equipment in the major airports in the
country.
The aircraft was on its way to Bebi Airstrip at the foot of Obudu tourist site
when it disappeared from the radar.
Against the backdrop of an earlier threat that heads might role over the
missing aircraft, the committee might focus on auditing budgetary allocations to
radar installation in the last four years.
Chairman, House committee on aviation, Independent Ogunlewe, who disclosed this
to journalists in Abuja; also blamed the Federal Government for the poor funding
of the aviation sector which he said was far below world standard.
Ogunlewe said only N6- billion had been expended so far on the 66 million Euro
tracon projects which started about four years ago.
According to him, if there had been consistent adherence to budget provisions
in the past for the aviation sector, the project would have progressed up to 80
percent by now.
As a result of the delay in the project’s execution, he said the companies
handling the projects were asking for upward review of the contract value.
“To be frank with you, the country’s budget on the aviation sector is
child’s play compared to what is required. For example we have only two run
ways in our airports when other countries already have more than four. We need
to pump in more funds to this sector; government should be proactive in our
developmental efforts and should not be expenditure shy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the federal government has been urged to set up a functional Search
and Rescue unit in the aviation industry to complement services of the National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) made the call
yesterday while reacting to the inability of search efforts to locate the
Beechcraft 1900D aircraft that has been missing for the past 10 days.
President of NAAPE, Julius Owolabi, expressed shock over the continued
disappearance of the aircraft belonging to Wings aviation since March 15, 2008.
“We are deeply disturbed that for nine days running, the missing aircraft is
yet to be found,” he said.
He however urged the relevant authorities to intensify and widen the scope of
search by engaging and financially mobilize the community dwellers to carry out
foot search within and outside the suspected areas.
“Secondly, international assistance in the areas of the use of sophisticated
equipment and personnel should be sought to aid and strengthened the search”.
The NAAPE president remarked that calls for the removal of some chief
executives of the agencies and authorities were uncalled for, as it would not
provide any solution to the problem in hand.
An aviation consultant, Dele Ore, had stated that the search and rescue in
Nigeria “is only on paper,” noting that “we don’t have a good system.
It is a reminder that things are not working. Over the years, I have been
saying it that we have a glorified search and rescue that is not working,
because you don’t know the agency in charge of it.
“We will continue to search for aircraft 24 hours after crash or any incident
because that agency is near non existent. It is unfortunate that this is still
happening. Those crew members could be our sisters, our friends, and it is
possible that they could have sustained minor injuries at the time it crashed,
but because it took so much time to rescue them, they could have died”.
On the capacity of NEMA in the search and rescue operations, Ore held that the
agency does not have the capable of handling aeronautical rescue, stating that
“NEMA was set up to distribute blanket and food during natural disasters like
flooding and fire outbreak”.
Ogunlewe described the call for the sack of some aviation officials and the
banning of the Bebi Airstrip as extremist suggestions.
In his view, government should get a list of all the airstrips in the country
and ensure that the appropriate agencies exercise supervision over them.
The lawmaker also wants what he called “government’s elitist” attitude
towards the aviation sector to be changed if truly it intends to make Nigeria
the business hub of West Africa.
“As long as the aviation sector exists in Nigeria, this thing would continue
to happen, so suspending flight or banning the airstrip is not the solution. The
solution is to find a way to resolve the problems. We cannot say the minister
should resign because he made a statement and withdrew it. It’s not going to
be the first time such a thing would happen all over the world,” said
Ogunlewe.
He explained that though the idea of making Nigeria the business hub of West
Africa is a wonderful one, it can not be done without putting in the facilities
needed at the aviation sector given that airports are the gateway to the
country.
Ogunlewe said the Beechcraft incident has thrown up the challenges of
appreciating the crucial role aviation has to play in the nation’s march
towards 2020.
“For the realisation of the 2020 dream, we would need massive inflow of
foreign investment. The aviation sector plays a strategic role in realising that
dream. The authority should realise this as well as the challenges of how we are
seen by the outside world,” he said.