NCAA Suspends Max Air’s Boeing 737 Aircraft over Safety Concerns

 Chinedu Eze

 The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operations of all Max Air’s Boeing 737 aircraft type with immediate effect.

The  NCAA disclosed this through a letter issued  to the airline’s Managing Director, dated  July 12, 2023, where it stated that it had suspended Parts A3 and D43 with regards to the operation of Max Air’s Boeing 737 aircraft type with immediate effect.

Parts A3 deals with the airline’s Aircraft Authorisation and D43 deals with Aircraft Listing of the Operations Specifications issued to Max Air Ltd.

The letter titled: “Suspension of Parts A3 and D43 of the Operations Specifications Issued to Max Air with Immediate Effect,” was signed by Ibrahim Bello Dambazau,  the Director, Operations Training & Licencing on behalf of the  Director General of Civil Aviation.

The letter read: “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) hereby suspends Parts A3 (Aircraft Authorisation) and D43 (Aircraft Listing) of the Operations Specifications issued to Max Air Ltd with regards to the operations of the Boeing B737 aircraft type in your fleet.

“With the above suspension, you are to immediately suspend the operations of all Boeing B737 aircraft in your fleet.

“The Authority’s action is due to the several occurrences that involved your Boeing B737 aircraft as listed hereunder:

“Loss of number 1 Main Landing Gear (MLG) wheel during the serious incident involving a Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBDwhich occurred between Take-off at Yola Airport Adamawa State and onlanding at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja Nigeria on 7th May, 2023.

“Fuel contamination of the main fuel tanks of aircraft B737-300, Registration Marks; 5N-MHM, leading to the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) shutdown on ground Yola Airport on the 7th of July, 2023;

“Aborted take-off of Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBD, which occurred at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) due to high Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) indication on the 11th of July, 2023; and

“An air return by aircraft B737-300, Registration Marks; 5N-MHM to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) due to duct overheat indication in the cockpit on the 11th of July, 2023.’

The NCAA, according to the letter of suspension, has since constituted a team of inspectors to conduct an audit of Max Air Boeing B737 aircraft type.

The result of the audit, the NCAA stated, “must be found satisfactory by the authority prior to considering the restoration of the privileges of the operations specifications to the  airline  to further operate the aircraft type.”

The airline has recorded a series of incidents with its Boeing 737 aircraft, which is the major equipment it operates.