Stories by Matthew Denis with Agency Report
An Aviation expert, Engr. Dele Fredrick has lend his voice to the controversies trailing the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 across the world.
Since the Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian 737 Max 8 just after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing 157 passengers including three Nigerians, many experts in the aviation sector have called for the total ban of the boeing newest flagship model.
Recall that another Max 8 plunged into the Java Sea minutes after taking off from an Indonesian airport in October, 2018 killing all 189 on board.
The official of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who spoke to Pilot Aviation in Ilorin, on Friday blamed the manufacturer for installing system that makes it challenging for the pilots.
He argued that the engine of the particular aircraft differs from other Boeings thereby confusing pilots who are very conversant with system of the others.
He said, ” The Boeing 737-800 max is built with so many bottons which pilots find challenging when flying the airline and it is very slow in stabilising in the air. “
According to him, the recall of the aircraft by the manufacturers is the best option, as the manufacturers will be able to re-configure the engine to the test of modern gadgets.
The manufacturers of boeing airlines had announced Thursday last week that it was suspending deliveries and recall of its 737 Max jets to airlines after nearly every country grounded the plane following the crashes incidents.
The Acting Administrator of the airline, Daniel Elwell said Boeing will continue to build the 737 Max airplanes while assessing how the situation, including potential capacity constraints, will impact our production system.”
This means while Boeing will keep building its newest flagship product, it will put deliveries on hold until new software is installed, tests are carried out and the investigation into the Ethiopian crash provides some answers.
A new satellite network capable of tracking planes in high fidelity across the globe captured the flight path of the Boeing Co. 737 Max that crashed Sunday. The data was critical in persuading the U.S. to join the rest of the world in grounding the jet, according to industry and regulatory officials.
The erratic, six-minute flight of the Ethiopian Airlines plane convinced the Federal Aviation Administration that it was close enough to what preceded the Oct. 29 crash of another Max off the coast of Indonesia to warrant concern.
After reviewing the data “it became clear – to all parties, actually – that the track of the Ethiopian Airlines flight was very close and behaved very similarly to the Lion Air flight,” he added.
Since the Indonesian crash, investigators have focused on the aircraft’s anti-stall system that dips the plane’s nose down to prevent it from stalling.
Experts probing the Indonesian disaster said information from the flight data recorder showed the plane’s automatic safety system repeatedly pushed it downward despite the pilots’ desperate attempts to maintain control. U.S. pilots have complained about the 737 Max, saying its systems have limited their control, according to a confidential U.S. government report.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which ordered the planes grounded in the U.S. on Wednesday, said new satellite data and other evidence showed similar movements by the Ethiopian and Indonesian planes.
With the recent experts’ perception that other possible causes of the crashes are being investigated, including other malfunctioning systems and pilot error. More than 50 nations have taken steps to ground the Boeing 737 Max, with restrictions ranging from banning the models from their airspace or airports to grounding any models in the fleets of airlines based in the country.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had also last week Wednesday announced a ban on Boeing 737 – Max aircraft flying in Nigerian airspace after the Ethiopian Airlines incident .
The decision was taken at the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja .
The Minister of State , Aviation, Hadi Sirika , told State House correspondents after the FEC meeting that both the Boeing 737 – Max 8 and Max 9 were affected by the ban.
The minister said, “Regarding Boeing 737 – Max 8 and Max 9, that has been in the news recently , there is no cause for alarm as there is no operator in Nigeria that is using that type of plane.
“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority , whose mandate it is to issue advisory , has already issued advisory that nobody should fly into Nigeria or out of Nigeria using Boeing 737 – Max 8 and Max 9 , pending the determination of the actual cause of the crash in Ethiopia and also pending the outcome of the response of the manufacturer, which is Messers Boeing.
“Regardless of the enormous safety records of this plane, 737 – Max, it has caused concern in the world of aviation and you know aviation is universal ; whatever affects one affects the other because aircraft will be flying in and out . So , we have issued a directive that no operator with Boeing 737 – Max 8 or Max 9 should operate into and out of our airports , and this is being carried out .
“Regarding Air Peace and Arik (that placed) orders, whether those orders were confirmed or intent , it is to our knowledge in the ministry that they won ‘t be in the country until the next two years or so . And this period is enough to sort out whatever problem it is with that plane.
“The world of aviation will not be sleeping just as we in Nigeria will not be sleeping . And it is normal standard practice that once a particular aircraft type is involved in an accident back-to- back, it is withdrawn from the market and see if there is something they are doing wrong . And if it is confirmed that a particular problem , say for instance , landing gear , they will issue an instruction to ground such a plane worldwide until the problem is fixed .”
Some of the indigenous airlines operations in Nigeria include Air Peace Allied Air, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Associated Aviation, Azman Air AZ Dana Air DA, Dornier Aviation Nigeria DA First Nation Airways FR, Hak Air HK Kabo Air QN, Max Air NG Med-View Airline ME, Overland Airways and TAT Nigeria. Among these airlines Medview has two Boeing aircraft, max and few others which are likely to be affected with the ban by the government.
