Poor ICT Fingered in Dana Plane Crash

The recent Dana plane crash in Lagos has exposed the frightening dearth of modern technologies in the nation’s aviation sector, making the touted achievements in the industry only cosmetics, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.

The crash came just days after Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, minister of Aviation, beat her chest at the ministerial press briefing tagged 365 Days of Aviation Sector Transformation and reeled the accomplishment of her ministry including the near accident-free record as well as the attainment of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s category 1 Safety Status oblivious of the landmine ahead.

But in the midst of claims and counter charges following the crash, the spin and sound bites, obvious questions are not being asked: are there adequate technologies; and are they relevant to current market conditions in the country’s aviation sector?

This is coming on the heels of fresh suggestions that the plane crash could be linked to the deplorable state of ICT infrastructure at the airport that probably denied the late pilot Peter Waxton, opportunity to link up with air traffic controllers in the Lagos control tower, even after establishing contact with the radar controller.

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) claimed it has an advanced aircraft tracking device to ensure that passengers and aircraft in Nigerian airspace are safe and their location easily identified.

Described as the first of its kind in Africa, the tracker allows NCAA, airlines and other operators to pin-point the whereabouts of an aircraft at anytime with precision.

Theories have been conjured as to why the tracker could not locate the ill-fated aircraft with pin-point accuracy.

Sam Adurogboye, head, Public Relations Department, NCAA said: “unlike the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) system and other tracking devices already in use in the Nigerian aviation industry, the current aircraft tracking device would track both airborne and aircraft on ground”.

But a source at the airport who does not want to be named asked “when the pilot of the ill-fated plane alerted the aviation authority via the radar on the emergency situation even at 11 nautical miles to landing, why couldn’t he contact the control tower before crash landing at 4 nautical miles?

According to the source, the derelict ICT infrastructure has shown itself, and it is quite unfortunate that nobody could come out to admit that.

“Between the time Captain Waxton contacted the radar and the crash we have 7 nautical miles, had it been the control tower was on, then the deed may not have been as disastrous as we have it now. We work here and we know what is going on in the industry. Most of the airlines are managing, and is disheartening that the authorities are economical with the truth. And if drastic measures are not taken to avert the impending dooms, the sector may be depleting to the era of air crashes,” our source added

Captain Oscar Wason, the director of Flight Operations, Dana Air, confirmed that “the captain did not have a chance to talk to the Lagos control tower. He was talking to the radar control. He was released from the radar control to control tower, but he never made the call”

As the argument swung left and right, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations showed that the sector is lagging behind in ICT application and in some cases they are entirely absent making it sore-footed and refractory.

For instance as countries are moving away from old technologies, Nigeria is adopting them and hailing them as the next big thing, the result is a monstrous array of outdated and non-functional pieces of equipment.

Aviation experts described the situation as worrisome and urged government to muster the political will to avert a systemic failure that may lead to harvest of plane crashes and save the industry which records 14 million passengers annually.

One made case for the adoption of IPv6, being pushed as a critical enabler for greater speed and precision in the performance of net-centric operations for the global ground and air communications area still elude the nation’s aviation industry.

Dr. Emeka Orji, an aviation expert based in USA said that air crash could be avoided if Nigeria moved with speed as technologies emerge. He is pushing for IPv6 in aviation.

“Airline companies and airports can easily track and monitor airplane information by becoming IP addressable: that is sensors and cameras and IPv6 also facilitates the “reachability” of people and machines and enhances communications that are fundamental for airports to achieve efficient resource management” Orji added.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek however gathered that the industry has more pressing issues because even if the technologies are available, there may be no qualified hands to apply them.
This is because the aviation manpower is gradually phasing out as qualified Nigerians look elsewhere for greener pastures, leaving a greater number of those left to learn on the job.

Orji agreed that the sensitivity, accuracy and performance of each IT/IS systems and software in aviation field is crucial factor because a simple coding formation error, a lost data packet or unstable system may spell doom.

Dr. Harold Demuren, director-general, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) who was asked to proceed on suspension by the Senate had in an interview earlier in the year said that manpower development in the aviation industry would also help combat brain-drain.

Demuren was quoted as saying that “establishing a manpower development board is the right way to go, unless they do it we won’t get anywhere in the aviation industry. There must be a body that has to take a global look on the manpower requirement in the industry, plan for manpower development, have a data base, carry out research and know which way to go”

Orji said a coordinated national policy on aviation backed by political will address most of the problems in the industry especially information sharing relating to airport security; funding; manpower and safety.