The recent event involving the airport arrest of Rivers State Government’s Bombardier BD700-1A11 (Global Express) with registration number N565RS has revealed that many aircraft operating in Nigeria have improper entry permit documentation.
It was revealed by an operator who has both foreign registered and locally registered aircraft under his management that there are lots of other aircraft that fly in the country illegally.
“If this incident did not happen, the Rivers State government can be flying that aircraft for the next five years and nobody will know. Who are you to stop a governor to question him about the clearance document of his aircraft? That is what other highly placed persons are doing,” he said.
It was gathered from the report that for years many private aircraft owners, mostly highly placed, who register their aircraft overseas, have flouted the rules by operating independent of airlines with Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
According to regulation, every aircraft must operate under a company that has AOC to ensure that the aircraft is subjected to safety conditions for its air worthiness and to ensure that it is properly maintained.
So it is part of the regulation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and also the 2006 Civil Aviation Act in Nigeria that aircraft operate under airlines that are recognised and licenced by the regulatory body, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“If you commit any crime NCAA will punish you through the airline that is managing the aircraft and that airline will make sure that it does not flout any of the regulations and any aircraft under its management abides by regulation.
“The airline knows that his licence is at stake so he will make sure that the aircraft is safe before it is allowed to fly and NCAA deals with the airline on anything concerning the aircraft.
“So he is held accountable and he in turn ensures that the aircraft meets all conditions to enable it to fly, including having proper documentation, paying all the charges and being well maintained.
“So having illegally operated aircraft is a security threat to the country and also diminishes the safety status of Nigeria in the eye of the international aviation organisations, including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), ICAO, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and others.
The operator also noted that there are regulations that guarantee the safe operation of aircraft in the country but government’s “highhandedness” flouts these regulations.
“The system is good but they don’t allow it to work well,” he said.
Similarly, an insider in the aviation industry said that in the last four years the management of NCAA has developed “too much respect” for the VIPs and allowed them room to flout the rules and also protect them when they flout these rules.
“A man met me two weeks ago and said that he wanted to put his newly acquired aircraft under my management. I said okay that I will let him know the conditions. Later he called me and said that he was not going to put it again because he learnt that he could operate it without subjecting it to an airline. Who knows, that aircraft may still be flying in Nigeria’s airspace now,” the operator also said.