As the United States Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, yesterday commenced the re-assessment of the country’s Category One status, which it obtained in 2010, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has reeled out the benefits of the exercise.
The four-man US team will be in Nigeria till Friday to assess NCAA’s compliance with applicable sections of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, standards contained in Annexes 1, 6 and 8, which focus on the eight critical elements of a state safety oversight.
The team will also use the current International Aviation Safety Assessment, IASA, checklist and ICAO guidance material during the assessment.
In a press briefing at the NCAA headquarters in Lagos yesterday, which was attended by the foreign advisors on the project from US, the Acting Director-General of NCAA, Engr. Benedict Adeyileka, stated that the exercise would be concluded on Friday as scheduled.
He said the US advisors were in Nigeria to advise the NCAA and other agencies on critical areas to address to move the aviation industry forward.
According to him, “during this exercise, the FAA team will carry out re-assessment of the NCAA’s compliance with applicable sections of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices ,SARPs, as contained in Annexes 1, 6, and 8 and the following eight critical elements of a state safety oversight as described in the ICAO Document 9734, Part A.”
He listed the eight critical elements that will guide the team to include, Critical Element 1 – Primary Aviation Legislation, Critical Element 2 – Specific Operating Regulations, Critical Element 3 – State Civil Aviation System and Safety Oversight Functions, Critical Element 4 – Technical Personnel Qualification and Training, Critical Element 5 – Technical Guidance and Tools, Critical Element 6 – Licensing and Certification Obligations, Critical Element 7 – Surveillance Obligations, Critical Element 8 – Resolution of Safety Concerns.
He stated that the NCAA in preparation for this exercise had provided responses to the checklist and forwarded it to the FAA team leader.
In his words, “the FAA team will also visit Arik Air Limited and its facilities during this exercise, Arik Air Limited who currently is the only Nigerian air carrier operating directly into and out of the continental USA was used for the initial IASA Category One Assessment in 2010.
This is to assure the team that NCAA is not alone in this programme; we have the full support of the federal government of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, the supervising minister of Aviation, Chief Samuel Ortom`, all the stakeholders namely the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, Nigeria Metrological Agency, NIMET, the Airlines/Operators, Ground Handling and Allied Services Providers, the Aviation Press Corps among others.
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