NAAPE Cautions NASS on Withdrawal of Dana’s Licence

Irked by the incessant calls by both chambers of the National Assembly for the revocation of the Dana Airline operating licence and the sack of Dr. Harold Demuren, director general, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), influential parties in the industry have warned the lawmakers to tread with caution.

The stakeholders who converged under the aegis of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) appealed to both Houses of the National Assembly to appreciate the long held tradition of not using the outcome of air accident investigations for punitive purpose.

In a statement by Balami Isaac and Ocheme Aba, national president and general secretary, NAAPE respectively, the group said that the current grandstanding by the National Assembly will be counterproductive in the long run, in that it will discourage co-operation by airlines and other flight operation organizations and their staff, which is likely to deny investigation process vital information necessary to arrive at right conclusions.

The statement read: “The House of Representatives, acting on the basis of the report of its Committee on Aviation passed a resolution on the 17th of January 2013 asking the Federal Government to revoke the operating license of Dana Air and to remove the Director – General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, among other things.

This resolution was sequel to the crash of Dana Air on the 3rd of June, 2012 which killed about one hundred and sixty three people, including about ten people on ground.

“But now the Senate has also passed the same resolution at their session of 29th January, 2012. Before another round of harsh comments begins, the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) would like to throw some light on the matter with a view to dissipating the unnecessary heat being generated on the issue.

“First of all, it should be well understood that ICAO recognizes the legislature of each affiliate country as an important stakeholder in the business of aviation generally and specifically recognizes the legislature to play parallel role in matters such as the one at hand. This is because ICAO recognizes that National interest has a place in the aviation scheme of things, and that regulations are products of legislation, such as the NCAA Act. Therefore, the involvement of the National Assembly in the matter is definitely not out of order”.

NAAPE added that although the National Assembly has oversight responsibility over the Ministry of Aviation and its affairs, it therefore does not make sense for anyone to consider their involvement with the Dana crash as meddlesomeness.

“Of significant import too is the fact that the National Assembly has a responsibility to protect National interest, especially knowing that agencies such as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) serve purely professional interests.

“We dare say that those querying the competence of the National Assembly simply are not aware of the verifiable information at their disposal, and may be shocked to find out.

At the same time, the Group implores the public to exercise patience and await the final report of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) which is the body recognized, and which has competence, to determine the actual cause(s) of the air crash in question.

“Finally, we wish to remind all concerned to have in mind those bereaved by the Dana Air crash; to bear in mind their pains and plight. Whipping up sentiments and emotions could be interpreted as being insensitive,” the statement read.