What's New In W. Africa (Nigeria)
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I'm rather out of touch with what's happening in Bristow and PAAN. I heard that Eric Adevokhai is the new deputy Head of Flight Ops, but who's replacing Dave Dwyer? I heard that Mike - the axe 
- Imlach has been visiting after being promoted to Senior VP Operations for Bristow, so who has he wielded his axe on so far? He was pretty much universally hated during his time as the damaging director there 
. Has anyone taken over the training manager job now that Adinba has left for Chevron? What's happening at Agip? I heard one base manager resigned and the other stood down.
I hear that there have been quite a lot of upsets in PAAN also with base managers resigning. What's going on there to upset people? Have they also got a new managing director?
It's also rumoured that the Director of Flight Operations of Caverton has resigned (or more likely fired).
What's happening with Aero RW? There were rumours that Nestoil were interested in buying them for their AOC. If the NNPC aircraft really are being sold that will leave them with almost nothing, but I can't believe they'll disappear from the scene. Having said that, I think of the demise of Okada airlines all those years ago and that was never resurrected. Maybe the Ibru family is not interested in keeping the helicopters or their reported family squabbles and the 60% holding by AMCON is forcing them to review their finances. I'm sure that the old Warri airstrip will still be of interest to other helicopter operators as it's a good fuelling stop and Osubi is ridiculously expensive.
- Imlach has been visiting after being promoted to Senior VP Operations for Bristow, so who has he wielded his axe on so far? He was pretty much universally hated during his time as the damaging director there . Has anyone taken over the training manager job now that Adinba has left for Chevron? What's happening at Agip? I heard one base manager resigned and the other stood down.I hear that there have been quite a lot of upsets in PAAN also with base managers resigning. What's going on there to upset people? Have they also got a new managing director?
It's also rumoured that the Director of Flight Operations of Caverton has resigned (or more likely fired).
What's happening with Aero RW? There were rumours that Nestoil were interested in buying them for their AOC. If the NNPC aircraft really are being sold that will leave them with almost nothing, but I can't believe they'll disappear from the scene. Having said that, I think of the demise of Okada airlines all those years ago and that was never resurrected. Maybe the Ibru family is not interested in keeping the helicopters or their reported family squabbles and the 60% holding by AMCON is forcing them to review their finances. I'm sure that the old Warri airstrip will still be of interest to other helicopter operators as it's a good fuelling stop and Osubi is ridiculously expensive.
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I'm hearing through the grapevine, so take it for what it is worth, that quite a few of the pilots in PH "are packing their bags for the last time".
Bristow also reportedly stopped the 412 to 76 conversions that was started in anticipation of Addax going to 76Ds.
As for PAAN, same old same old. Rumors rule all, little or no info from above. And pilots looking for alternate employment in anticipation of the contract going away. The feeling amongst the guys is that the lack of info from above is to get the people to stay. If the Hofo and MD told the guys and gals what is actually going on there would be a great exodus, leaving PAAN high and dry.
Bristow also reportedly stopped the 412 to 76 conversions that was started in anticipation of Addax going to 76Ds.
As for PAAN, same old same old. Rumors rule all, little or no info from above. And pilots looking for alternate employment in anticipation of the contract going away. The feeling amongst the guys is that the lack of info from above is to get the people to stay. If the Hofo and MD told the guys and gals what is actually going on there would be a great exodus, leaving PAAN high and dry.
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Bristow used to be a great company. I don't know about other parts of the world but it looks as if here in Nigeria it's passed its heyday and the decline is gathering momentum. That's what happens when people with zero people skills who's only remit is to squeeze blood out of a stone rise to the top of aviation companies. I really wish I'd gone into IT now; the fun's gone out of aviation in Nigeria 
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Fact is, all the guys and girls doing the job and make the $$ are in bad shape right now! If Bristow loses another contract, then good night! 
Well, there are currently other option if you want to stay in Nigeria. But is it really an option?
Well, there are currently other option if you want to stay in Nigeria. But is it really an option?
Join Date: Jun 2013
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The PAAN base managers who stepped down are not going to be replaced as such, but the HoFO and his deputy will be moving and taking on dual roles as base managers. I can't see PAAN being replaced at Escravos though as they've had that contract for years now. However, it's possible the contract could be split between 2 operators, with the 'small' ships run by 1 company from Escravos and the mediums run by another out of WT. I wonder how much influence Adinba will have on this process in his new Chevron job.
It's strange that EA was not made training manager and now, as for many years when 'the major' and PW were running things, the training department is a rudderless ship. Things now are worse here than they were 5 years ago with rampant favouritism and crony-ism in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
With Boko Haram getting bolder and committing new atrocities on a daily basis, the possibility of Ebola coming to Lagos, maybe it really is time to get out as IT jobs are available and I want to get my family away from all of this
It's strange that EA was not made training manager and now, as for many years when 'the major' and PW were running things, the training department is a rudderless ship. Things now are worse here than they were 5 years ago with rampant favouritism and crony-ism in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
With Boko Haram getting bolder and committing new atrocities on a daily basis, the possibility of Ebola coming to Lagos, maybe it really is time to get out as IT jobs are available and I want to get my family away from all of this
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Both Arik Air and Asky have now suspended flights to Monrovia and Freetown because of the Ebola outbreak, but is it too little too late? All of the countries where cases have been confirmed have also done too little and MSF is really the only organisation trying to get things under control. The Liberian man who arrived on the Asky flight had symptoms and collapsed as soon as he arrived, but the incubation period of the virus is between 2 and 21 days, so there may be other passengers who have travelled to Nigeria from the affected countries whose symptoms have not yet started to show. We just have to hope and pray that the one found is the only one
What is the Ebola virus, and how worried should we be?[
As the death toll from Ebola reaches 670, a second American doctor contracts the virus in Liberia, and it is feared to have spread to Nigeria, here's an explanation of what Ebola is, how it is spread, and how worried we should be.
What is Ebola?
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "a severe, often fatal illness in humans."
It first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks - in Nzara, Sudan; and in Yambuku, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
It is mainly found in tropical Central and West Africa, and can have a 90 per cent mortality rate - although it is now at about 60 per cent.
How is it transmitted?
The virus is known to live in fruit bats, and normally affects people living in or near tropical rainforests.
It is introduced into the human population through close contact with the sweat, blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.
The virus then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the disease is not contagious until a person begins to show symptoms.
A big problem in West Africa is that burial ceremonies, in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person, can increase the spread of the disease because a person can transmit the virus even after death.
Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.
Ebola kills indiscriminately, but women are particularly badly affected. Because it is transmitted through bodily fluids, it spreads easily to people caring for the sick. In West Africa, it is generally women that prepare dead bodies for funeral and look after ailing members of their communities.
What does it do to your body?
Symptoms begin with fever, muscle pain and a sore throat, then rapidly escalate to vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding.
The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is from two to 21 days.
Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease - two American doctors have already contracted it, and a Liberian medic has died. Sierra Leone announced on July 23 Sheik Umar Khan, the doctor leading the fight against Ebola in the country, had himself contracted the disease following the deaths of several nurses at the treatment centre where he works.
Early treatment improves a patient's chances of survival.
How is it treated?
There is no vaccine or cure, and testing to confirm the virus must be done with the highest level of biohazard protection.
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive. Patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids.
A significant problem with the current outbreak is families lose faith in Western medicine, which cannot yet cure the patients. They then take them home to traditional village healers, which often leads the disease to spread.
Where have there been outbreaks before?
The WHO is calling this the largest outbreak ever recorded of the disease.
But there have been sporadic outbreaks before - mainly in Uganda, the DRC, Sudan and Gabon.
The worst previous outbreak, in 2000 in Uganda, saw 425 people infected, of which just over half died.
How likely is it to reach Britain?
There has been a previous case in the UK, when in 1976 someone was accidentally infected in a laboratory, but survived.
And up until a few weeks ago, the cases were mainly in remote areas affecting rural workers unlikely to take flights and spread the disease internationally.
However, concern is now growing that this large outbreak is spreading beyond the rural areas of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - where it has been concentrated so far - and into the capital cities and beyond.
A Liberian man died in Nigeria on July 24, having flown in to Lagos after a stopover in Togo. That the man died in Africa's largest city has deeply worried authorities.
There have been no Ebola cases from people returning to the UK from Africa.
Guinea is not a big tourist destination with only around 2,600 visits a year from the UK, mostly on business - but 117,000 Britons visit Nigeria each year.
Travellers who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus in West Africa should seek urgent medical attention immediately if symptoms develop within 21 days of coming home. UK doctors who suspect Ebola can get expert advice from the Imported Fever Service.
Public Health England says the risk of a traveller contracting Ebola is very low without direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or animal
As the death toll from Ebola reaches 670, a second American doctor contracts the virus in Liberia, and it is feared to have spread to Nigeria, here's an explanation of what Ebola is, how it is spread, and how worried we should be.
What is Ebola?
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "a severe, often fatal illness in humans."
It first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks - in Nzara, Sudan; and in Yambuku, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
It is mainly found in tropical Central and West Africa, and can have a 90 per cent mortality rate - although it is now at about 60 per cent.
How is it transmitted?
The virus is known to live in fruit bats, and normally affects people living in or near tropical rainforests.
It is introduced into the human population through close contact with the sweat, blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.
The virus then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the disease is not contagious until a person begins to show symptoms.
A big problem in West Africa is that burial ceremonies, in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person, can increase the spread of the disease because a person can transmit the virus even after death.
Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.
Ebola kills indiscriminately, but women are particularly badly affected. Because it is transmitted through bodily fluids, it spreads easily to people caring for the sick. In West Africa, it is generally women that prepare dead bodies for funeral and look after ailing members of their communities.
What does it do to your body?
Symptoms begin with fever, muscle pain and a sore throat, then rapidly escalate to vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding.
The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is from two to 21 days.
Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease - two American doctors have already contracted it, and a Liberian medic has died. Sierra Leone announced on July 23 Sheik Umar Khan, the doctor leading the fight against Ebola in the country, had himself contracted the disease following the deaths of several nurses at the treatment centre where he works.
Early treatment improves a patient's chances of survival.
How is it treated?
There is no vaccine or cure, and testing to confirm the virus must be done with the highest level of biohazard protection.
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive. Patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids.
A significant problem with the current outbreak is families lose faith in Western medicine, which cannot yet cure the patients. They then take them home to traditional village healers, which often leads the disease to spread.
Where have there been outbreaks before?
The WHO is calling this the largest outbreak ever recorded of the disease.
But there have been sporadic outbreaks before - mainly in Uganda, the DRC, Sudan and Gabon.
The worst previous outbreak, in 2000 in Uganda, saw 425 people infected, of which just over half died.
How likely is it to reach Britain?
There has been a previous case in the UK, when in 1976 someone was accidentally infected in a laboratory, but survived.
And up until a few weeks ago, the cases were mainly in remote areas affecting rural workers unlikely to take flights and spread the disease internationally.
However, concern is now growing that this large outbreak is spreading beyond the rural areas of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - where it has been concentrated so far - and into the capital cities and beyond.
A Liberian man died in Nigeria on July 24, having flown in to Lagos after a stopover in Togo. That the man died in Africa's largest city has deeply worried authorities.
There have been no Ebola cases from people returning to the UK from Africa.
Guinea is not a big tourist destination with only around 2,600 visits a year from the UK, mostly on business - but 117,000 Britons visit Nigeria each year.
Travellers who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus in West Africa should seek urgent medical attention immediately if symptoms develop within 21 days of coming home. UK doctors who suspect Ebola can get expert advice from the Imported Fever Service.
Public Health England says the risk of a traveller contracting Ebola is very low without direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or animal
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::: Oyibosonline ::: The Expat's Guide to Nigeria :::
"The global health group Doctors Without Borders has characterized the Ebola outbreak as “absolutely out of control,” and the group’s director of operations, Bart Jannsens said that the outbreak “can only get worse.” "
This can only go one way. Time to stop travel?
"The global health group Doctors Without Borders has characterized the Ebola outbreak as “absolutely out of control,” and the group’s director of operations, Bart Jannsens said that the outbreak “can only get worse.” "
This can only go one way. Time to stop travel?
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FEAR PANDEMIC
Honestly mate? The media is spinning this fear and panic epidemic 24/7 for ratings. Wash your hands regularly and do not exchange bodily fluids with an acutely ill person. You have more of a chance dying from AIDS, Lassa Fever, Malaria, Yellow Fever or Boko Haram. Cheers
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I don't think it's the media spinning this. Both the WHO and MSF are extremely concerned and it's already the biggest Ebola outbreak ever.
No one believes the Nigerians can contain this in Lagos, except Nigerians...
The guys in the BRC better be washing more than their hands....
No one believes the Nigerians can contain this in Lagos, except Nigerians...
The guys in the BRC better be washing more than their hands....
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I agree completely tuk tuk. The WHO does not need ratings. Obviously Bristow and other companies will try to play this down and compare Ebola to a common flu outbrake, but Ebola is deadly. Yes there are many risks down there, a long list, but Ebola is the latest, very deadly, and it is very disappointing to see that Bristow (as with all other potential problems affecting staff) just dont care at all. Their response has simply been: wash your hands, look out for ill people and if you don't like it you know where the door is...
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As there is no vaccine against Ebola, prevention is the only solution at this stage. Cleanliness is a good place to start. I will take the BRC as an example. Can you compare the state of its kitchen to the one in your own home? How about the filth all around in there? Is your own home in that state? How about the laundry room? How about the state of most furniture, courtains, beds, sheets, etc, etc. Just like the ones at home, right? My guess is the answer to these is NO. But I guess all this is too much to ask because these things take money to be fixed and management bonuses are at stake here... and hey "what do you expect it‘s Nigeria"
And if you can‘t stand it leaving is always a good option. How many expats have come and gone in the past few years? A lot. And each time someone resigns and a new expat joins it costs money to the company. Wouldn't it be easier to fix things and try and keep expats happier and for the long term? Maybe I‘m just naive, I don't know.
And if you can‘t stand it leaving is always a good option. How many expats have come and gone in the past few years? A lot. And each time someone resigns and a new expat joins it costs money to the company. Wouldn't it be easier to fix things and try and keep expats happier and for the long term? Maybe I‘m just naive, I don't know.
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The (French) general manager of Aero Contractors rotary wing has now left and gone to Benin Republic. Is this the end of the end for this company which was once the largest helicopter operator in Nigeria? The CHC experience and the squabbles between the children of the 2 wives of Chief Ibru seem to have finally brought the company down
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I hear Bristow had a 76 blow the floats on deck, and then load pax and return to base. This would be the captains third time blowing the floats, previously on the 206 in Escravos.
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Actually it was the co-pilot and that's my first time ;-) yours is still coming
PS - pax were already loaded on unstable deck wasnt an option to offload as floats lesson ground contact on a moving deck
PS - pax were already loaded on unstable deck wasnt an option to offload as floats lesson ground contact on a moving deck
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I'm sure the passengers will be pleased to know that their Captain wants to shift the blame. I'd be interested in the reference that floats lessen ground contact on a moving deck.
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It would be informative to learn exactly how that Float Inflation happened?
Perhaps a full explanation might help someone else keep that from happening to them in the future.
Care to share your experience with the rest of us?
After all, Bristow just spent a bit of money re-packing the Floats and recharging the Float Bottle(s) so a bit of added value to the event would seem worthwhile rather than just getting into a pissing contest.
We all have to remember that even Monkey's fall out of Trees sometimes.
Perhaps a full explanation might help someone else keep that from happening to them in the future.
Care to share your experience with the rest of us?
After all, Bristow just spent a bit of money re-packing the Floats and recharging the Float Bottle(s) so a bit of added value to the event would seem worthwhile rather than just getting into a pissing contest.
We all have to remember that even Monkey's fall out of Trees sometimes.