AIB acquires Emergency Mobile Satellite Office to aid accident, serious incident investigations

The Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N), Mr. Akin Olateru says, it has acquired an emergency mobile satellite office to aid it in the investigation of serious incident and accident in the country.

He said, it would take delivery of the satellite office in a few months.

Speaking during the oversight visit of the joint National Assembly Committee on Aviation to the AIB Bureau Lagos office at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Mr. Olateru explained that, the equipment would have all the paraphernalia of a real office and would be deployed to any crash site in case of any accident.

He said, this would help the investigators to download the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) right at the crash site without having to delay the process.

“We have grown to the position where we help nations to set up their accident bureaus. France just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with us. This will enable us to help the francophone countries in Africa in accident investigation. AIB has the first accredited laboratory in Africa today.”

The AIB boss emphasised that, through the quality safety recommendations on serious incident and accident in the sector, AIB-N had helped to contribute to the safety recorded in the sector in recent years, maintaining that the aviation industry in Nigeria could be compared to any other developed ones in the world.

“Since 2016 till date, as a country had only one fatal accident. The sector is one of the best in the world in Nigeria. The safer airspace is due to the implementation of safety recommendations released by AIB-N”.

According to him, AIB-N expends about $1 million (about N550 million) on training of technical personnel annually and in order to curb capital flight in the training of its personnel, it is constructing a training school in Abuja where its investigators and foreigners would be trained.

“This is going to be the first of its kind in Africa with support from Cranfield University, United Kingdom, Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria. This institution will serve as a source of internal generated revenue for AIB with an enabling study environment, a four-star accommodation of 30 hotel rooms, training rooms and an auditorium of 250 capacity.

He disclosed that, the project was about 90 per cent completed and hoped to inaugurate the facility in the third quarter of this year.