….Threatens sanctions over cover-up attempts
By Chinelo Obogo
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued an All Operators Letter (AOL) accusing domestic airlines of doctoring cockpit voice recorders in attempts to cover up incidents.
The civil aviation authority in the (AOL) with reference number: NCAA/DGCA/AOL/11/16/365, signed by the Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA),
Capt. Musa Nuhu, said Nigerian operators are in the habit of overwriting the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of aircraft after serious incidents and accidents in order to circumvent investigation by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The letter dated July 24, 2023, addressed to Accountable Executive, Directors of Operations, Chief Pilots and Safety Managers, said that some airlines have consistently indulged in this unprofessional practice, which could impact safety negatively. The CAA then issued a 30 days ultimatum to all airlines to comply with the amendments or face sanction.
The letter to all Accountable Executive/Director of Operations/Chief Pilot/Safety Manager titled: Re: Continuous Overwriting of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Information Aviation read; “The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had noticed that some airline operators’ flight crew members were in the practice of continuously overwriting the CVR information after an occurrence.
“This practice makes it practically impossible for the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to retrieve actual data to aid in its investigation as required by Paragraphs 25 and 26 of the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2019. This action has also impeded and posed undesirable difficulty in ensuring that NSIB successfully discharge its statutory mandate of investigating accidents and serious incidents.
” Unfortunately, this unwholesome practice has recently been detected in the industry. The Authority, by this AOL, wishes to reiterate that Nig. CARS Part 7.8.1.3 (b), which is derived from the provisions of ICAO Annex 6, Section 11.6 states that, “To preserve flight recorder records, flight recorders shall be deactivated upon completion of flight time following an accident or incident. The flight recorders shall not be reactivated before their disposition as determined in accordance with the accident incident regulations of Nigeria”.
“Furthermore, Nig. CARS Part 8.14.10.3 (a) requires that “The operator/owner of the aircraft, or in the case where it is leased, the lessee, shall ensure, to the extent possible, in the event the aircraft becomes involved in an accident or incident, the preservation of all related flight recorder records and, if necessary, the associated flight recorders, and their retention in safe custody pending their disposition as determined by the Accident Investigation Bureau (now NSIB).”
The NCAA had issued an FSG All Operators Letter (AOL) with ref:NCAA/FSG/AOL/19/003 and dated 30th July, 2019 with the purpose of alerting all aircraft operators on the continuous overwriting of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Information by their flight crew members and the necessity to ensure compliance with the appropriate Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARS) requirements.
