On a radio show this morning
300+ souls lost in Nigerian aviation disasters in a year. With stats like that, our industry makes one re-think whether or not air travel is indeed the safest form of transportation in the world.
I was with a colleague listening to a radio show (this morning) which happened to mention the crash of yesterday. The show stated that the pilot refused (and I repeat, refused) to adhere to ATC instructions advising him of the bad weather and took off without clearance. The folks on the show were quiet for a moment before one of the hosts hollered "what is going on in Nigeria? Three crashes in a year? How can a pilot take off without clearance and blah, blah, blah." I'm sure you all get the picture.
I was shocked, embarrassed and appalled at what I heard, but what really ticked me off was what our Honorable Minister had to say about who was at fault and etc. Doesn't he understand one of the cardinal rules of accident investigation is never jump to conclusions, assumptions and probable cause(s) without knowing the facts. But then again I'm not surprised at his foolishness, after all this is the guy that said they couldn't find the Bellview black boxes because of its location in the cockpit of the aircraft, hence it is buried in the earth....(WTF people?????). Last time I checked black boxes were located in the tail section of an aircraft.
Nevertheless, we really need to address Aviation Safety in Nigeria or else it might come to a time when any flight could be someone's last flight. Enough of our "fire brigade approach." I'm sick and tired of promises by them to address Aviation Safety. They are all wind....and no rain. Is it that the law makers think they are immune to death from aviation accidents? Take a look back at the past accidents, were there or were there not law makers in them? This should be a wake up call to them.
I'm also using this opportunity to ask the forum, do our airlines back home have dedicated Safety Departments??? I have never seen ads on their WebPages hiring for safety. Are they forgetting that prevention is better than cure or Safety is no issue amongst Nigerian airlines?
My heart goes out to the bereaved families, God be with you all.
V1_RHOT8