…insists Airline was grounded on safety reasons
Less than one week after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) grounded its operations owing to safety, the Management of Azman Air has accused the Director General (DG) of the Agency of demanding for N15 million for a publication which carried the Airline’s advertisement.
However, the NCAA in swift reaction described the allegation, affirming its position in a detailed statement issued to the Aviation press over the weekend.
General Manager, Public Relations of the Authority, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, explained in the statement that from November 20-22, 2017, Nigeria hosted the ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF/3) in Abuja.
He said the sponsorship of the event was sought from aviation organisations, including Azman Air, through a letter from the then Federal Ministry of Transportation (aviation).
“The Director General, who at that time was the Representative of Nigeria on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and a key member of the organizing committee of IWAF/3, delivered the letter of sponsorship to the management of Azman Air while he was on a family visit to Kano. The Chairman and the CEO of Azman Air both promised to revert but never did. The request for sponsorship of IWAF/3 can be independently verified with other Nigerian airlines”.
“In addition, a publication, ICAO STATES TODAY, carried an Azman Air advert. The Airline subscribed to the advert in 2016, in preparation for the 39th General Assembly of ICAO but till date, Azman Air has refused to pay the advert cost of US$3,701, despite several reminders. The invoice from the publisher of the magazine, FCM Communications based in Montreal, Canada, can be independently confirmed with the publisher,” he said.
Adurogboye also maintained that Azman Air’s operations had been grounded for safety reasons had over a six-week period recorded three separate incidents, resulting in damage to the aircraft in each case but with no loss of life.
These, according to him were on February 11, 2021 when a component of the Airline’s Boeing 737-500 marked 5N-SYS fell off while taking off at the Kaduna Airport en route Lagos.
On February 16, 2021, Azman flight AZM 2325, with the same Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration 5N-SYS, suffered burst tyres while landing in Lagos, with resultant severe damage to the aircraft engine and fuselage.
Another incident involving the airline’s Boeing 737-500 marked 5N-YMS occurred on March 15, 2021 when the aircraft had burst tyres after landing at the Lagos Airport and taxiing to its parking stand.
The statement
The attention of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been drawn to a press release issued by the management of Azman Air over the suspension of its flight operations by the NCAA that has gone viral in the social media.
The NCAA would not ordinarily have bothered to respond to the publication and would rather focus on its core mandate of ensuring safe and secure air transportation in Nigeria. We are, however, constrained to issue this press release to keep the records straight and disabuse the minds of the public that the action the Authority took was actuated otherwise than by safety considerations.
Over a period of about six weeks, Azman Air Boeing 737 aircraft operating scheduled passenger flights were involved in three separate incidents, resulting in damage to the aircraft in each case but with no loss of life, for which we are grateful to God.
On 11th February 2021, Azman Air flight AZM 2318 operated with the same Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration 5N-SYS departed Kaduna for Lagos. During take-off, a component of the aircraft was observed to have fallen off the aircraft and Air Traffic Control (ATC) notified the Captain, who elected to continue the flight to Lagos. Upon arrival Lagos, the Captain failed to make entry in the aircraft technical logbook.
Azman Air maintenance team on ground Lagos were notified of the detached part and carried out an inspection, which identified the missing part as the no 3 Main Landing Gear (MLG) heat shield. However, the maintenance team neither made an entry in the technical logbook nor rectified the defect but released the aircraft for a scheduled passenger flight from Lagos to Abuja.
NCAA inspectors in Abuja were notified and promptly grounded the aircraft, until the defect was rectified, before releasing the aircraft for resumption of flight operations. A Letter of Investigation was issued to Azman Air, and investigations are ongoing.
Exactly five days later, on 16th of February 2021, when the previous incident was still under investigation, Azman flight AZM 2325, with the same Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration 5N-SYS, suffered burst tyres while landing in Lagos, with resultant severe damage to the aircraft engine and fuselage. The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) is currently investigating this occurrence as a serious incident. READ ALSO: Azman Air lied!! NCAA shuts down airline’s operations for safety reason
On Monday 15th March 2021, Azman Air flight AZM 2318, operated with a Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration 5N-YMS, departed Kaduna for Lagos. The Captain reported a loud bang after retracting the landing gear during take-off but decided to proceed to Lagos as all parameters were normal. The aircraft landed Lagos and taxied to its parking stand when ATC informed the Captain of the burst tyres as reported by the Airport Fire Service. NCAA Kaduna Regional Office Manager alerted the Director General (DG) of tyre debris on the runway in Kaduna when an inspection was carried out after the departure of the Azman flight. The DG instructed NCAA Lagos office to conduct a ramp inspection of the Azman aircraft. When the NCAA inspectors reached the aircraft, they discovered that two severely damaged tyres had been replaced and further inspections revealed damage to a hydraulic line with resultant hydraulic leak and damage to the hydraulic reservoir.
The alarming trends of tyre failures, in combination with improper tyre maintenance procedures, are a clear and strong indication of an accident chain formation in its final stages. There was an urgent need to break the accident chain before a completely avoidable national tragedy occurs. No responsible Civil Aviation Authority will fold its arms and wait for the next incident to occur, perhaps a fatal accident, before taking action.
Consequently, the director general called for an emergency meeting of the Flight Standards Group of the NCAA, to discuss and decide on the next line of action on the worrisome developments at Azman Air. After deliberations, which lasted for several hours, and comprehensive evaluations of these incidents, the Director General decided to suspend Parts A3 (Aircraft Authorization) and D43 (Aircraft Listing) of the Operations Specifications (OPS SPECS) issued to Azman Air, thus suspending the operation of the entire Boeing 737 aircraft on its fleet.
A comprehensive audit of Azman Air will be conducted in the areas of operations, airworthiness, training, licensing, financial health and any other area determined to be necessary during the exercise. An Audit Team of inspectors has been constituted to determine the root causes of these incidents, and recommend action plans to forestall re-occurrence.
Regarding the spurious allegation made against the director general, that he demanded the sum of 15 million naira for a publication which carried an Azman advert. Between 20-22 November 2017, Nigeria hosted the ICAO World Aviation Forum (IWAF/3) in Abuja. The sponsorship of this event was sought from aviation organizations, including Azman Air, through a letter from the then federal ministry of transportation (aviation). The director general, who at that time was the Representative of Nigeria on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and a key member of the organizing committee of IWAF/3, delivered the letter of sponsorship to the management of Azman Air while he was on a family visit to Kano. The chairman and the CEO of Azman Air both promised to revert but never did. The request for sponsorship of IWAF/3 can be independently verified with other Nigerian airlines.
In addition, a publication, ICAO STATES TODAY, carried an Azman Air advert. The Airline subscribed to the advert in 2016, in preparation for the 39th General Assembly of ICAO but till date, Azman Air has refused to pay the advert cost of US$3,701, despite several reminders. The invoice from the publisher of the magazine, FCM Communications based in Montreal, Canada, can be independently confirmed with the publisher.
The official request for sponsorship of IWAF/3 and reminder of payment for the long overdue invoice of US$3,701 to FCM Communications, are the basis for the false claims against the director general of allegedly demanding the sum of 15 million naira.
Finally, neither the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority nor its director general will succumb to any blackmail and or threat in carrying out the statutory responsibility of the safety and security oversight, in addition to the economic regulation, of the civil aviation industry in Nigeria, as enshrined in the 2006 Civil Aviation Act.
