FG Approves Digital Reporting of Air Accident Investigations

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), has announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the use of digital technology to report accident investigations in Nigeria.

The Commissioner of AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru, who made the disclosure in Abuja, Olateru said that the Bureau is delighted to announce that funding  has been approved for the development of Advanced Report  Generation  Utility Engine (ARGUE), a system  which will dramatically improve how Air Accident Investigation results are communicated  to, and accessed by, stakeholders.

He stated that by and large, accident investigation authorities do an excellent job of  investigating aviation occurrences worldwide, through a long evolution  of best  practices detailed in ICAO Annex 13.

Olateru, said that however, “when it  comes to communicating the results of investigations, most States still default  to the legacy verbose written  approach  in which reports are published as PDF  documents.

“In today’s fast paced world where  people often barely skim the headlines,  effective marketing of the results of investigations is arguably the next  hurdle to  overcome, if we are to truly  exploit the lessons learned.”

He further maintained that many state databases are notorious for collecting information, but when it comes to the dissemination of information, they perhaps fall short of the mark as, in some cases, the information is not even accessible to the public.

According to him: “The Accident investigation process, put simply, involves the investigation of  incidents/occurrences and the documentation of findings and recommendations via word documents, which are subsequently converted into  PDF format and published to the world.

“An average report could contain over 200 pages of information, ranging from  the basics of the incident in view to more complex technical issues about the aircraft.

“The document is usually of interest,  and relevant, to a wide range of stakeholders for varying reasons. The  communication of information can only  really be deemed  effective if it is relevant and readily accessible, in both  content and format, to the target audience.

“AIB-N is taking the lead on this front,  with ARGUE, by taking the next logical  step in the publication of  its report. We  will shortly begin producing our reports in Digital  format, with embedded  animation capabilities”, Olateru stated. 

The Commissioner said, “by this initiative, we will bring accident reporting into the current media age. ARGUE has embedded  tools which enable the use  of advanced graphic/ animation  software to communicate more effectively than often ambiguous written words. 

“Most importantly, web technology formatted content directs attention to  the areas of highest importance instantly, eliminating the need to peruse an entire PDF document in search of a specific detail.

“Digitilising our reports is fully compliant with ICAO Annex 13 and aims to  enhance the reading experience and enable quick and easy access to the desired aspects of the report, with the  click of an embedded link.”