Long known for substandard aviation, changes seem to be in Nigeria’s future.

Nigeria’s airports are slated to be revamped to meet international standards according to Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation. Safety and security are intended to be the new priority, as they aim for “zero” accidents.

Infrastructure and services are also slated to be improved.

The ICAO’s AFI plan is part of the Third Pan-African Aviation Training Coordination Conference.

The conference is organized by the ICAO Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (AFI Plan) in cooperation with the aviation regional organizations in the AFI Region, and hosted by the Government of South Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 27 to 29 July 2011.

The agenda for the conference is here.

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Fake Boeing Disaster at Harare Airport

Although the head of Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority David Chawota confirmed with the BBC: “I can confirm that a 767 plane coming from London has had an accident at Harare airport,” the whole thing was a drill with paid actors.

BBC’s Brian Hungwa reported seeing a large plume of smoke and helicopters over the runway.

Apparently no one but a chosen few were informed it was a drill. Apparently seeing what the media would do was part of the Zimbabwe’s Civil Aviation Authority’s “exercise.”

George’s Point of View

Maybe I’m out of line here, but it seems to me a drill is supposed to test responses in-house.

The fire drill at a school, for example, involves firemen arriving and evaluating the response time of those endangered.

But if someone at the school sets off an alarm to see what would happen, or calls 911…they’re criminally liable. Okay, well maybe they were testing emergency services which for the CAA might be considered in house.

But testing the media? Allowing the news to go out to the media that there was a disaster? As someone who deals with people suffering horrible loss from disasters that are real, this sounds more like a cruel joke than a drill. I wonder what the IATA and ICAO will have to say about this. At the very least, it is unethical.

Chawota said “This was a usual drill for the period. We do this once every three years. This was for the benefit of our police personnel, security, aviation, medics, hospital — everyone was involved. This exercise helps the general preparedness of our facilities here.”

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Enugu-Bound Air Peace Flight Suffers Loss of Cabin Pressure

Air Peace flight P4-7100 suffered a loss of cabin pressure on the way to Enugu, Nigeria, on December 14th.

The incident happened when the Boeing 737-300 plane was flying from Lagos, Nigeria.

The crew subsequently initiated an emergency descent. The passenger oxygen masks were deployed.

The plane continued for a safe landing.

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This Months Bad News: Trans States Holdings Inc

This month’s poster child for how not to run your commuter airline:

Trans States Holdings Inc.

After two incidents in the last four months, there’s now a $2.5 million civil penalty in the offing for Trans States Holdings Inc. from the FAA. But more crucial than the last two incidents, the problem really comes down to hundreds of safety violations on 320 flights over the past two years, all related to maintenance, after repeated warnings and reoccurring violations.

What is it I always say?

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

See Below:

FAA Proposes $2.5 Million in Civil Penalties Against Trans States, GoJet

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing $2,476,075 in civil penalties against Trans States Airlines and GoJet Airlines of Bridgeton, Mo., for violation of various maintenance procedures and operating nine jets on 320 revenue passenger flights when the aircraft were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

Trans States Airlines and GoJet Airlines are both owned and operated by Trans States Holdings. Trans States Airlines performs maintenance and training on GoJet aircraft.

The proposed civil penalties involve seven GoJet+ Canadair Regional Jets and two Trans States Embraer 145 regional jets. The FAA alleges Trans States and GoJet operated aircraft when maintenance had been carried out incorrectly, and that the company failed to complete required maintenance record-keeping.

The FAA alleges Trans States and GoJet violated a number of maintenance regulations and procedures, including use of outdated manufacturers’ maintenance instructions to perform repairs; failure to connect a wing flap actuator to its torque tube, rendering the flaps inoperative; failure to document an inspection after an aircraft was damaged by severe turbulence; failure to document and carry out proper repairs after aircraft warning systems identified problems; improper repair of an engine oil leak and failure to comply with minimum equipment list regulations.

“Air carriers cannot ignore maintenance requirements or allow employees to take a pass on following regulations,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “Safety depends not only on maintenance work being done correctly, but also being recorded properly.”

Trans States and GoJet have 30 days from receipt of the civil penalty letters to respond to the agency.

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