Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), on Wednesday, approved government’s ban on the operation of the controversial Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 in the country’s airspace.
Hadi Sirika, Minister of State Aviation disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House Correspondents after the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari
Sirika who noted that aviation is universal, said that the aircraft had been banned from being flown in or out of Nigeria pending the determination of the outcome of the investigations by its manufacturers.
“ The 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 the Boeing 737 Max , pending the determination of the actual cause of the crash in Ethiopia and also pending the out of the response of the manufacturer itself,” Sirika said.
He noted that although no Nigeria operator currently has the aircraft in their fleets, no airline operator would be allowed to fly the aircraft into the country, adding that “Aviation is universal.”
“Regardless of the enormous safety records of the Boeing 737 Max, it has caused safety concerns in the world of aviation and as you know, Aviation is universal. Aviation is one; there is no aviation A or B, what affects one affects the other,” the minister said.
Sirika declared that the Nigeria government took aviation safety as a priority, and added that the country was joining the on-going global efforts to ensure that the aircraft was safe before it could become operational in Nigeria.
Boeing, the United States giant aircraft manufacturer, has said it would deploy a 737 MAX software enhancement across the fleet in the coming weeks.
The company also said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would also mandate the change in an Airworthiness Directive (AD) by April.
According to Boeing, the enhancements on the aircraft include updates to “the MCAS flight control law, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training. The enhanced flight control law incorporates angle of attack inputs, limits stabilizer trim commands in response to an erroneous angle of attack reading and provides a limit to the stabilizer command in order to retain elevator authority.”
Boeing said MCAS was initially introduced to improve handling characteristics and decrease pitch-up tendency “at elevated angles of attack” but not “in normal flight.” The company stressed in its statement that “the pilot will always be able to override the flight control law using electric trim or manual. In addition, it can be controlled through the use of the existing runaway stabilizer.”
The statement came in the aftermath of two 737 MAX 8 crashes in less than five months involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. Since the Ethiopian’s flight 302 crashed on March 10th,a growing number of civil aviation authorities and airlines have grounded their MAX fleets.
U.S. records indicate that pilots filed at least five different complaints in recent months, reporting trouble gaining control of Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets while in-flight.
Among the issues, the anti-stall system was referenced, which possibly provoked the crash in Indonesia in October, according to a statement from a Federal Aviation Administration database in which pilots self-report matters of concern.
In one documented case, a commercial pilot described the take-off, and “within two to three seconds the aircraft pitched nose down,” setting off the plane’s alarm system, which sounded: “Don’t sink, don’t sink!” according to Politico.
Authorities have not yet confirmed if that technology was also to blame for Sunday’s crash in Ethiopia.
But Ethiopia will ask European air-safety experts to analyse black boxes from the crashed jet in a sign U.S. authorities aren’t trusted to determine the cause of the disaster after ruling that the model was safe to fly.
The government hasn’t yet decided exactly where to send the data and voice recorders, though a European body would be approached, Ethiopian Airlines, which operated the crashed 737 Max jet, said Wednesday.
The choice of Europe over the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for the analysis of the black boxes is a strategic decision for Ethiopian Airlines and the nation’s government, said Asrat Begashaw, the carrier’s public relations director. The country’s investigation is being led by the transport minister, he said by telephone.
The U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the French BEA both said they had so far had no request for help, though the AAIB would consider stepping in if asked, a spokesman said. The body had sent three experts to the crash scene, as it’s entitled to do as U.K. citizens were among those killed.
It’s unusual for black boxes to be sent to a country not directly involved as the location of a crash, the place of registration of the aircraft, or in a manufacturing capacity, the AAIB said.
France has a more direct role since the Max’s Leap engines are made by the CFM International venture of General Electric Co. and Paris-based Safran SA.
Even if it requests help in downloading data and voice recordings, Ethiopia will retain control of the investigation and the relevant information, according to the AAIB. Whichever body processes the boxes, the airline and other relevant parties would attend as observers to ensure that proper protocols are followed.
Thirty countries across the world have suspended Boeing’s 737 Max 8 planes from operating.
Ifeoma Okeke and Tony Ailemen
