Investigation Bureau, NSIB, Releases Bristow, Air Peace, Overland, Other Flight Accident Reports

Chinedu Eze

The newly established Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has released seven air accident reports, including the incident involving Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Ltd, Embraer 135 aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BSN, which occurred at Port Harcourt military Airport (NAF BASE), Port Harcourt, on March 9, 2020.

The report also featured the incidents involving ATR-72 aircraft marked 5N- BPG, owned and operated by Overland Airways limited, at Ilorin International Airport, on November 29, 2014, Boeing 737-300 aircraft belonging to Air Peace Limited marked 5N-BUO at FL310 en route Enugu from Lagos on December 14, 2018, and British Aerospace BAE 125-800B aircraft marked 5N-BOO operated by Gyro Aviation limited, at Port Harcourt, Nigeria on July 16, 2020.

Others were the incidents involving British Aerospace BAE 125-800B aircraft marked 5N-BOO operated by Gyro Aviation limited, at Osubi airstrip, Warri, on September 10, 2020, a Dornier 328-100 aircraft marked 5N-DOX, operated by Dornier Aviation Nigeria AIEP (DANA) Limited, at Port Harcourt military Airport on 23rd January 2019 and Airbus 330-243 aircraft operated by Middle East Airlines marked OD-MEA and a parked Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Turkish Airlines marked TC-LJC at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on July 29, 2020.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Director-General of NSIB, Akin Olateru, at a virtual press conference on the release of the accident reports.
He also spoke about how the activities of the new organsiation would be funded, revealing that the act establishing the NSIB increases the revenue from three per cent to six per cent. Olateru added that it would get five per cent from Passenger Service Charge collected by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and six per cent from Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) collected on behalf of other aviation agencies by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Olateru further disclosed that the bureau would get a per cent of charges from all terminal operators and ticket sales in Nigeria, including the maritime sector.
The Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB) changed its name to Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) following the new NSIB Act 2022, recently assented to by President Muhammed Buhari. The Supreme Court gazetted the new NSIB Act on November 28, empowering it to investigate serious incidents and accidents in aviation, maritime, rail, and road sectors.

Olateru also mentioned that the bureau achieved 82 per cent of the implementation of safety records so far, adding that it works with stakeholders in implementing the recommendations.
“We achieved 82 per cent, and that is not different from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) can achieve. We collaborate with stakeholders on the implementation,” he added.

The newly released reports make a total of 82 aircraft accident reports released by the bureau since its establishment in 2007 and 63 reports released by the current administration from 2017 to date..