Working in Nigeria
Wasn't so much the things Nigerian....but more like the quality of engineering and maintenance standards of the operator I worked for. That and the housing standards, work roster, pay and benefits.....that made other climes and locations much more attractive. That and watching the standards creep downwards over time.....due to a lack of rotation out of Nigeria either by choice or by lack of opportunity. Going from an 8/4 rotation to 7/5 rotation made up for the real risk of being kidnapped or held hostage if you made a precautionary landing for maintenance reasons (I guess?)
Knowing the Chief Pilot cared so much that he went on leave while two aircrew were being held sure was impressive.....I know he was doing his best to negotiate the release of his pilots. The guys involved absolutely loved the fact that the company made not one search flight dedicated to finding the crew.....nor did the company stop operational flights until the crew was released.
Add that to the fact the 212's have between 28,000-31,000 hours on them and look like it....doesn't help. But....if you like to drink and play with the ladies...then this could be the place for you.....and to think...at one time it was a very nice place to be.
Knowing the Chief Pilot cared so much that he went on leave while two aircrew were being held sure was impressive.....I know he was doing his best to negotiate the release of his pilots. The guys involved absolutely loved the fact that the company made not one search flight dedicated to finding the crew.....nor did the company stop operational flights until the crew was released.
Add that to the fact the 212's have between 28,000-31,000 hours on them and look like it....doesn't help. But....if you like to drink and play with the ladies...then this could be the place for you.....and to think...at one time it was a very nice place to be.
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"and to think...at one time it was a very nice place to be."
When was that, SASless? About 1943, according to my old man who transitted the place around then!
I worked there in the 70's, and wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the place. Corrupt, mean, hot & humid. Mind you, only the Nigerians could work out that hazard flashers on cars are to indicate going left & right at the same time, ie going straight on at a crossroad
When was that, SASless? About 1943, according to my old man who transitted the place around then!
I worked there in the 70's, and wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the place. Corrupt, mean, hot & humid. Mind you, only the Nigerians could work out that hazard flashers on cars are to indicate going left & right at the same time, ie going straight on at a crossroad
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Time to get this a bit in perspective. I too have worked there on and off from the 1970s.
Nigeria is undoubtedly a very corrupt and dangerous country (and getting more dangerous on the streets over the last 2 years). I have personally been attacked in an attempted robbery and had 3 (failed) hijack attempts on my helicopter. The most dangerous place to be is in a moving car (especially at night due to the large number of enormous potholes, little street lighting because of the numerous power failures, and the lack of much in the way of lighting on most of the vehicles). Road accidents are the largest single killer of Nigerians between the ages of 14 and 40.
However, travel through Lagos International Airport has improved beyond belief in the last few years, there is very little in the way of harassment from officialdom there any more and the air conditioning works.
Helicopter hijackings became quite common a few years ago, but these too have now ceased. This is probably due to the fact that security has been tightened up by the operators and helicopters no longer shut down at any of the flow stations in the swamps.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the NCAA are trying to improve matters. Many formerly unserviceable navaids have been brought back into service and regulations recently changed to a mix of JARs, FARs and ICAO. Time will tell whether there is the money and/or the willpower to make the regulations effective.
None of the helicopter operators there provides decent accommodation, with the possible exception of that for the staff on the Shell operation in Port Harcourt - fine if you want to live in a luxury prison camp miles from anywhere, and (possibly?) the Mobil operation in Qua Ibo Terminal. The financial 'rewards' nowhere near compensate for the conditions in which one has to live. Communication with the outside world has improved slightly with the introduction of a GSM telephone network, but this is grossly oversubscribed and in general communication is truly awful!
There are still a lot of old helicopters out there, but they are gradually being replaced with newer types (though some of these may well prove not to be to durable in the hot, humid, tropical conditions).
The Nigerians are a very outgoing and friendly people on the whole, very ready to laugh but unfortunately, also very ready to shout. It's sad that in the oil producing areas, years of neglect and corruption siphoning off the money has resulted in severe community problems with oil company offices, camps, airfields and terminals being over-run by sometimes-armed local youths. The all too frequent instances of sabotage on fuel pipelines and the few refineries in the country producing at way below capacity due to neglect, cause the world's seventh largest oil producer to suffer chronic shortages of petrol and kerosene. I do not see this getting any better for many years. The electrical supply isn't!! Generators are essential as even when there is any power the voltage is usually very low.
As long as you bear factors like these in mind it can still be a good place to work, but the operators are going to have to improve the incentives to be there if they are going to attract and keep the number and quality of staff they need to run their operations properly.
Nigeria is undoubtedly a very corrupt and dangerous country (and getting more dangerous on the streets over the last 2 years). I have personally been attacked in an attempted robbery and had 3 (failed) hijack attempts on my helicopter. The most dangerous place to be is in a moving car (especially at night due to the large number of enormous potholes, little street lighting because of the numerous power failures, and the lack of much in the way of lighting on most of the vehicles). Road accidents are the largest single killer of Nigerians between the ages of 14 and 40.
However, travel through Lagos International Airport has improved beyond belief in the last few years, there is very little in the way of harassment from officialdom there any more and the air conditioning works.
Helicopter hijackings became quite common a few years ago, but these too have now ceased. This is probably due to the fact that security has been tightened up by the operators and helicopters no longer shut down at any of the flow stations in the swamps.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the NCAA are trying to improve matters. Many formerly unserviceable navaids have been brought back into service and regulations recently changed to a mix of JARs, FARs and ICAO. Time will tell whether there is the money and/or the willpower to make the regulations effective.
None of the helicopter operators there provides decent accommodation, with the possible exception of that for the staff on the Shell operation in Port Harcourt - fine if you want to live in a luxury prison camp miles from anywhere, and (possibly?) the Mobil operation in Qua Ibo Terminal. The financial 'rewards' nowhere near compensate for the conditions in which one has to live. Communication with the outside world has improved slightly with the introduction of a GSM telephone network, but this is grossly oversubscribed and in general communication is truly awful!
There are still a lot of old helicopters out there, but they are gradually being replaced with newer types (though some of these may well prove not to be to durable in the hot, humid, tropical conditions).
The Nigerians are a very outgoing and friendly people on the whole, very ready to laugh but unfortunately, also very ready to shout. It's sad that in the oil producing areas, years of neglect and corruption siphoning off the money has resulted in severe community problems with oil company offices, camps, airfields and terminals being over-run by sometimes-armed local youths. The all too frequent instances of sabotage on fuel pipelines and the few refineries in the country producing at way below capacity due to neglect, cause the world's seventh largest oil producer to suffer chronic shortages of petrol and kerosene. I do not see this getting any better for many years. The electrical supply isn't!! Generators are essential as even when there is any power the voltage is usually very low.
As long as you bear factors like these in mind it can still be a good place to work, but the operators are going to have to improve the incentives to be there if they are going to attract and keep the number and quality of staff they need to run their operations properly.
Sousa.....you are correct here....the chat is about the living conditions there...and local crime and politics...driving practices...hijackings....not much to do with helicopters here. I guess we could mention the shooting of two Bristow Helicopter Ltd (Nigeria) fixed wing pilots during an attempted armed robbery of the fixed wing crew bus in Lagos but that is a stretch.
Crew pay and benefits, accomodation, travel are all issues that are more germane to the issues in the Agony Aunt forum .
Should we not focus on issues unique to our community and use other forums for the cross community issues.
Crew pay and benefits, accomodation, travel are all issues that are more germane to the issues in the Agony Aunt forum .
Should we not focus on issues unique to our community and use other forums for the cross community issues.
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This is not a non-helicopter thread. The conditions you live and work in are very much a part of your daily and WORKING life. They interact.
If you have had a gun stuffed up your nose the night before by the local police it may well affect how you perform when you strap yourself in the next morning.
We do not disassociate ourselves from our surroundings when we start to fly.
If you have had a gun stuffed up your nose the night before by the local police it may well affect how you perform when you strap yourself in the next morning.
We do not disassociate ourselves from our surroundings when we start to fly.
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SASless, there seem to be a number of helicopter related items on this thread, especially talk of hijacks on helicopters. Is this only on helicopters or have any fixed wing aircraft been hijacked there as well? If not, then what is it about helicopter operations in Nigeria that makes them more susceptible to hijacking and have adequate measures been taken to prevent further hijackings?
I can only relate what information I learned from others involved in the hijackings. The ones I am aware of involved helicopters that were flying at either the Port Harcourt or Warri Shell operations for Bristow. There was one kidnapping of a couple of expats from a local bush bar near the Warri Shell camp and all the rest took place at remote sites within the operational area onshore in the swamp areas.
All of the hijackings were resolved without any real physical harm being done to the hostages beyond that caused by malaria and exposure to unsanitary conditions. The average time held of the crews seemed to be approximately three weeks before negotiations were successful in obtaining the release of the hostages. The Ex-Pat crews seemed to be the desired target....and in general the expats were treated better than the Nigerians that were taken as well.
Some of the hijackings took place after security measures were enhanced. In general, the hijackings took place after several armed individuals were able to board the helicopters posing as passengers.....having replaced the Shell HLO or placed the HLO under duress to act as though everything was satisfactory at the landing site.
Due to the on-going strife in the Niger Delta area, Shell has obtained the use of Police and Military personnel who are well armed. That being said.....they are also under orders not to use deadly force to prevent these events as it is thought that will only make the political situation worse.
I personally departed one site when I feared being hijacked by the Army troops assigned to that site for security. They were expecting to be airlifted out for time off and we arrived to fetch some village elders for a meeting with Shell. When the troops learned they were not to be carried....they became very hostile and began to run towards the aircraft brandishing their weapons. The other pilot and I made a quick Chinese Parliment meeting and departed in a most rapid manner leaving our passenger safety equipment behind. We returned later after it had all cooled off and encountered no further problem......and we hauled the Army troops out for their leave.....Shell did not have the meeting until the next day.
Hijackings can still take place at any time.....in that security measures really are insufficient to prevent them from happening.
The Bristow crew bus was shot up duriing an incident in Lagos and resulted in two fixed wing pilots being shot. Both were evacced to the UK and recovered from their wounds. One was shot in the ankle....one was shot in the butt. A total of 13-16 rounds penetrated the van with only the two pilots being wounded.....a very lucky outcome all things being considered. It is surmised the event was merely an armed robbery gone bad. Apparantly, the van had just left the Bristow Staff House enroute to the airport for the first flight of the day and was ambushed at a road junction within a few blocks of the BRC. The driver was able to force his way around the blocking traffic and the van was fired upon as he drove off from the gunmen.
Bristow enhanced the physical security at the compound, equipped the vehicles with radios, and installed curtains on the new van......elected not to hire armed guards and still dispatches the van by itself to and from the airport. The airport shuttle is still a wide open target despite these improvements.
As long as Shell and Bristow continue to ignore the risks....aircrew are still subject to being hijacked or held hostage should they land out due to mechanical problems. Most of the villages in the area understand the financial incentives to demanding payment from the oil company and the helicopter operator.
Due to the fact Bristow does not provide messing.....and staff are required to do their own shopping....then the journey downtown can have its own risks. Usually, the risk is caused by blundering into some inter-tribal fighting which can be quite violent and often results in deaths of several people each time. Combined with ordinary street crime.....grocery shopping can sometimes become an adventure.
The only real concession Bristow made for all this is by changing the work schedule from 8/4 to 7/5. The pay has remained the same....unless something has changed since I left them four months ago.
Nigeria just isn't a very nice place now a days....the Lagos Airport has really improved.....and isn't a bad experience like it used to be. Traffic is deadly....travel between cities needs to be by air.....road travel is just too risky. Nigerian domestic airlines vary greatly in regard to safety standards, some are quite good, but others are a real throw of the dice.
All of the hijackings were resolved without any real physical harm being done to the hostages beyond that caused by malaria and exposure to unsanitary conditions. The average time held of the crews seemed to be approximately three weeks before negotiations were successful in obtaining the release of the hostages. The Ex-Pat crews seemed to be the desired target....and in general the expats were treated better than the Nigerians that were taken as well.
Some of the hijackings took place after security measures were enhanced. In general, the hijackings took place after several armed individuals were able to board the helicopters posing as passengers.....having replaced the Shell HLO or placed the HLO under duress to act as though everything was satisfactory at the landing site.
Due to the on-going strife in the Niger Delta area, Shell has obtained the use of Police and Military personnel who are well armed. That being said.....they are also under orders not to use deadly force to prevent these events as it is thought that will only make the political situation worse.
I personally departed one site when I feared being hijacked by the Army troops assigned to that site for security. They were expecting to be airlifted out for time off and we arrived to fetch some village elders for a meeting with Shell. When the troops learned they were not to be carried....they became very hostile and began to run towards the aircraft brandishing their weapons. The other pilot and I made a quick Chinese Parliment meeting and departed in a most rapid manner leaving our passenger safety equipment behind. We returned later after it had all cooled off and encountered no further problem......and we hauled the Army troops out for their leave.....Shell did not have the meeting until the next day.
Hijackings can still take place at any time.....in that security measures really are insufficient to prevent them from happening.
The Bristow crew bus was shot up duriing an incident in Lagos and resulted in two fixed wing pilots being shot. Both were evacced to the UK and recovered from their wounds. One was shot in the ankle....one was shot in the butt. A total of 13-16 rounds penetrated the van with only the two pilots being wounded.....a very lucky outcome all things being considered. It is surmised the event was merely an armed robbery gone bad. Apparantly, the van had just left the Bristow Staff House enroute to the airport for the first flight of the day and was ambushed at a road junction within a few blocks of the BRC. The driver was able to force his way around the blocking traffic and the van was fired upon as he drove off from the gunmen.
Bristow enhanced the physical security at the compound, equipped the vehicles with radios, and installed curtains on the new van......elected not to hire armed guards and still dispatches the van by itself to and from the airport. The airport shuttle is still a wide open target despite these improvements.
As long as Shell and Bristow continue to ignore the risks....aircrew are still subject to being hijacked or held hostage should they land out due to mechanical problems. Most of the villages in the area understand the financial incentives to demanding payment from the oil company and the helicopter operator.
Due to the fact Bristow does not provide messing.....and staff are required to do their own shopping....then the journey downtown can have its own risks. Usually, the risk is caused by blundering into some inter-tribal fighting which can be quite violent and often results in deaths of several people each time. Combined with ordinary street crime.....grocery shopping can sometimes become an adventure.
The only real concession Bristow made for all this is by changing the work schedule from 8/4 to 7/5. The pay has remained the same....unless something has changed since I left them four months ago.
Nigeria just isn't a very nice place now a days....the Lagos Airport has really improved.....and isn't a bad experience like it used to be. Traffic is deadly....travel between cities needs to be by air.....road travel is just too risky. Nigerian domestic airlines vary greatly in regard to safety standards, some are quite good, but others are a real throw of the dice.
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Arsehole of the world!
Wow Mr. Moderator as an old member of Pprune I find it difficult to believe you allowed that one in! ( WONDERS WILL NEVER END)
After going through all your post on this one I can only thank you all for your kind and wonderful words about flying in Nigeria. (or was it the streets of Nigeria).
Well Me I am here in Nigeria and also in the thick of it all and guess what I am still waitting to be robbed or kidnapped and likewise with the rest of my colleagues here.
And by the way most of the sordid stories that Have been mentioned here I have only experienced in the streets of America ( was robbed by two gunmen getting a burger 24hrs after my arrival in Gods own country/ still have a local papers story on it) I could go on and on but what for so I can end up talking like a low life Aviator on pprune and you bet I see a lot of their post on pprune, not me my friends I have too much respect for myself and the other decent pilots I have encountered here on the pprune site and the many pprune bashes I have attended with whom I have heard all but the nonesense I have read here.
Me and some of the guys here in Nigeria have come to the conclusion a long time ago that most of these dirty postings are actually written by Pilots already in Nigeria and trying very hard to keep thier jobs in place and scaring away thier colleagues. (and if I might add with all due respect hmm hmm they are targeting the younger ones who want to come out here and experience a bit of adventure and African flying itself.)
Please do not listen to these guys if you want any info about flying in this country and also who is employing right now and what they fly e.t.c. e.t.c. just send me an email with your questions and I will be glad to help. Especialy on the rotor side.
Zazoo
Wow Mr. Moderator as an old member of Pprune I find it difficult to believe you allowed that one in! ( WONDERS WILL NEVER END)
After going through all your post on this one I can only thank you all for your kind and wonderful words about flying in Nigeria. (or was it the streets of Nigeria).
Well Me I am here in Nigeria and also in the thick of it all and guess what I am still waitting to be robbed or kidnapped and likewise with the rest of my colleagues here.
And by the way most of the sordid stories that Have been mentioned here I have only experienced in the streets of America ( was robbed by two gunmen getting a burger 24hrs after my arrival in Gods own country/ still have a local papers story on it) I could go on and on but what for so I can end up talking like a low life Aviator on pprune and you bet I see a lot of their post on pprune, not me my friends I have too much respect for myself and the other decent pilots I have encountered here on the pprune site and the many pprune bashes I have attended with whom I have heard all but the nonesense I have read here.
Me and some of the guys here in Nigeria have come to the conclusion a long time ago that most of these dirty postings are actually written by Pilots already in Nigeria and trying very hard to keep thier jobs in place and scaring away thier colleagues. (and if I might add with all due respect hmm hmm they are targeting the younger ones who want to come out here and experience a bit of adventure and African flying itself.)
Please do not listen to these guys if you want any info about flying in this country and also who is employing right now and what they fly e.t.c. e.t.c. just send me an email with your questions and I will be glad to help. Especialy on the rotor side.
Zazoo
Last edited by ZAZOO; 5th Jul 2005 at 16:08.
Gatvol
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Ok, I understand why the thread is here, good that some from the other forum can jump in. Lots of experience floating around the African Aviation forum.........
Anyway, dont know that I would have the Balls to do it, but it might be interesting to see what the service ceiling on a helicopter does to hijackers next time........
Anyway, dont know that I would have the Balls to do it, but it might be interesting to see what the service ceiling on a helicopter does to hijackers next time........
Well now....we had a pilot flying on the Texaco contract with a 355....things got a bit ugly at one of his stops....he yanks and banks...heads for the offshore rigs....upon making his approach.....sees a lot of rig workers showing a lot of attention to his landing......only to discover it wasn't his close adherence to the Cat A profile that had them interested...but the erstwhile hijacker clinging very tightly to the far side skid. Seems the 10 minute flight out of doors had cooled the perp's desire for helicopter flying. The funny part of all this was the pilot in question never suspected he had the fresh air rider. No incident report was ever filed.....seemed best no one need to hear of that....and it wasn't like the passenger in question was going to make a complaint.
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Nigeria is what you make of it, just like anywhere else. If security is your main concern, I believe it can be improved. I fly fixed wing and never have I encountered any hijackings or any form of personal assault. I guess flying rotary in the niger delta is a bit different. But calling the place names, makes me wonder if we learnt anything from 9-11. Like the saying goes, one man’s meat is another’s …… I am sure you made a living over there, you were not there on humanitarian grounds, doing free work for those “ poor souls” If you signed the contract and put up with the nonsense, then shut up, that is your problem. Direct your gripe to Bristow.
Flame away.
Flame away.
Tally,
Telling the truth is not calling names...the hijackings occurred, the shooting occurred, the pilots were wounded, the tribal fighting occurs frequently, the shoddy working conditions are real, the poor pay is real, and the turnover rate for pilots in the helicopter side is real......a few of the operators are still in the belief that helicopter pilots are still a dime a dozen and thus the poor conditions continue. When the situation gets so bad that they can no longer crew the operations then the changes will come.
Until then, those that fear for their job and continue to moan in the bar at night and not take their concerns to the front office merely cause a delay in the cure. As long as pilots will let their personal and professional standards slip then the working conditions in Nigeria and other less than nice places will persist. Sometimes the source of the problem is staring in the mirror at you, as is the cure.
I guess I can fly shoddy aircraft, wear gray once white shirts....carry a red and white plastic Nigerian shopping bag as a flight case, drink myself to oblivion each night, keep my bush wife for the time in country and make do. Some of us just are not prepared to do so.
We watched the living standard go south for the helicopter pilots while the fixed wing pilot's living standards, pay, and roster improved. Its one thing to sit there in relative comfort, with safe shopping available, and a nice English style pub inside the compound and tell the helicopter pilots to shut up and carry on.
Small things like the fixed wing pilots complaining about helicopter pilots riding in the cockpit jump seat and thus cutting the one reasonably sure method of getting to Lagos doesn't help matters either. To cap that....Bristow and Shell agree to let management staff to ride in the jump seat but not the pilots and engineers that are expected to make lifesaving flights in trashy aircraft in bad weather. Talk about professional respect and courtesy!
Take your cheeky butt down to the delta and live like a helicopter pilot for seven weeks....then tell us about it! Hotbed each time you come in...maybe even change houses each time as well. Be dumped at your accomodation to find no bedding, no cutlery, no towels.....no pillows.....and when you tell the company they give you some glib answer and show no concern about providing an adequate place to sleep much less enjoy being in. Try to go shopping without transport....while working almost every day. Sit in a pilots waiting room which is a 40 foot container, with seating for five....despite 20 people at a time using the facilities.....the list of insults goes on and on! No....until you have walked in those shoes....don't try to tell the other side how to make it what you can. There is a minimum standard that a professional is entitled to while plying his trade.
Yes...life is great in the Delta!
Telling the truth is not calling names...the hijackings occurred, the shooting occurred, the pilots were wounded, the tribal fighting occurs frequently, the shoddy working conditions are real, the poor pay is real, and the turnover rate for pilots in the helicopter side is real......a few of the operators are still in the belief that helicopter pilots are still a dime a dozen and thus the poor conditions continue. When the situation gets so bad that they can no longer crew the operations then the changes will come.
Until then, those that fear for their job and continue to moan in the bar at night and not take their concerns to the front office merely cause a delay in the cure. As long as pilots will let their personal and professional standards slip then the working conditions in Nigeria and other less than nice places will persist. Sometimes the source of the problem is staring in the mirror at you, as is the cure.
I guess I can fly shoddy aircraft, wear gray once white shirts....carry a red and white plastic Nigerian shopping bag as a flight case, drink myself to oblivion each night, keep my bush wife for the time in country and make do. Some of us just are not prepared to do so.
We watched the living standard go south for the helicopter pilots while the fixed wing pilot's living standards, pay, and roster improved. Its one thing to sit there in relative comfort, with safe shopping available, and a nice English style pub inside the compound and tell the helicopter pilots to shut up and carry on.
Small things like the fixed wing pilots complaining about helicopter pilots riding in the cockpit jump seat and thus cutting the one reasonably sure method of getting to Lagos doesn't help matters either. To cap that....Bristow and Shell agree to let management staff to ride in the jump seat but not the pilots and engineers that are expected to make lifesaving flights in trashy aircraft in bad weather. Talk about professional respect and courtesy!
Take your cheeky butt down to the delta and live like a helicopter pilot for seven weeks....then tell us about it! Hotbed each time you come in...maybe even change houses each time as well. Be dumped at your accomodation to find no bedding, no cutlery, no towels.....no pillows.....and when you tell the company they give you some glib answer and show no concern about providing an adequate place to sleep much less enjoy being in. Try to go shopping without transport....while working almost every day. Sit in a pilots waiting room which is a 40 foot container, with seating for five....despite 20 people at a time using the facilities.....the list of insults goes on and on! No....until you have walked in those shoes....don't try to tell the other side how to make it what you can. There is a minimum standard that a professional is entitled to while plying his trade.
Yes...life is great in the Delta!
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Not having been in Nigeria since 1961, I can't make a personal comment about current conditions but a friend started in Port Harcourt about 4 weeks ago and his first email indicated he was quite happy. I'll get him to make some comment on his return next month.