Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has issued 72 hours
ultimatum to all helicopter companies operating Sikorsky S76C series to
immediately carry out safety audit on their entire fleets. NCAA
threatened that any company that refuses to comply with the safety audit
directive would be dealt with in accordance with the law. It directed
all such operators to repeat such audit in the chopper brand every 300
flight hours until further notice. Companies operating Sikorsky S76C
series in the industry are Caverton Helicopter, Aero Contractors and
Bristow Helicopters. NCAA in a statement by its General Manager, Public
Affairs, Mr. Sam Adurogboye said the directive was contained in a letter
earlier dispatched to all operators of the affected helicopters types.
He also said the affected helicopter companies must provide NCAA with
evidence of accomplishment of the directive, adding that it would
always take safety as highest priority in the sector. Parts of the
safety inspection NCAA ordered the companies to carry out included
visual inspection in accordance with relevant S76C AMM 20-32-00,
detailed inspection in accordance with relevant S76C AMM 66- 00-00 and
detailed inspection in accordance with relevant S76C AMM 66-
10-00,66-20-00,66-30-00,66- 40-00. The statement hinted that the
directive was an interim safety measure and that it was in addition to
the suspension of Bristow Helicopters operations of S-76 C ++ series and
the ongoing audit in the helicopter company.
The statement added: “It is pertinent to point out that this
directive is without prejudice to the ongoing investigation by the
Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, which the authority is fully
supporting. “NCAA wants to reiterate that it will not leave any stone
unturned to ensure that air transport is safe and secure in Nigeria.”
Bristow’s Sikorsky S- 76C++ series had ditched into the Atlantic Ocean
on February 3, 2016 enroute Murtala Mohammed Airport, MMA, Lagos.
The same aircraft brand also crashed into the lagoon on the
Oworonshoki Area of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos last August.
Immediately after the latest crash, the regulatory body suspended all
the Sikorsky S-76C++ series in the company for safety audit. Bristow
last week insisted that such audit and suspension of the aircraft type
should also affect other companies with the same helicopter brands in
their fleets. It would also be recalled that the AIB’s interim report of
the August 12, 2015 crash had triggers global safety alert from the
Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, and European Aviation Safety
Agency, EASA, New Zealand and Sikorsky. FAA as the country of
manufacture came up with its own Airworthiness Directive, AD, on the
accident and aircraft brand while EASA, and Sikorsky, the manufacturer
of the helicopter came out with their own reports on the probable cause
of the accident and the way forward.
Source: Nationalmirrow.net
Source: Nationalmirrow.net
