Fresh facts from the flight dispatchers have indicated pilot error and breach of aviation rules in the controversial diversion of United Nigeria Airlines’ Abuja-bound flight in Asaba last Sunday.
The flight dispatcher, who has been held culpable by UNA, and attendant flight plan have shown evidence that the UNA’s Flight NUA 0504 was dispatched to Abuja and in accordance with aviation rules.
It will be recalled that the airline made headlines Sunday when its Lagos-Abuja flight suddenly arrived at Asaba International Airport, without prior notice. The crew compounded the confusion announcing arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport while the actual location was Asaba, Delta State.
UNA’s Head of Corporate Communications, Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu, had in a statement said that the diversion was deliberate and due to bad weather. Both turned out to be false.
Findings from the body of flight dispatchers explained that the said airplane was dispatched in accordance with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, Part 8-Operations, which filed a flight plan with Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) and had transmitted the same to the Control Tower.
Details of the flight plan showed Lagos as the departure, Abuja destination, first and second alternate airports as Enugu and Port Harcourt, in that order. Flight time was 13:00. Flight duration was 55 minutes, with endurance of six hours.
The weather on the Lagos-Abuja route was also certified good for flight.However, The Guardian learnt that the pilot en route called the Air Traffic Control (Tower) for clearance to depart to Asaba.
The tower, following insistence of the pilot to land in Asaba, also granted the request against the legal flight plan submitted by the flight dispatcher.
Secretary General of Flight Dispatcher Association of Nigeria (FLIDAN), Victoria Adegbe, noted that both the pilot and the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) did not follow what was filed, which by implication, meant that they disregarded “Operational Control” of the flight dispatcher, which empowers a 50 per cent Joint and Equal Responsibility of the safety of the flight to the flight dispatcher.
Adegbe said: “The Airlines’ Operational control, which allowed a pilot to generate his own Operational Flight Plan (OFP), thereby taking the full responsibility of the Dispatch Release is an outright breach of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR Part 8).”
She added that the Airlines’ Operations Control further contravened the NCAR, which states that an airline pilot shall take to the destination airport a copy of the Flight Plan, Dispatch Release and Load Manifest.
“By implication, if the pilot had the flight plan on him, he would have gotten his destination right. The Dispatch Release if it was with him summarises the departure and destination, which was clearly disregarded.
“The ATC should not have granted a scheduled flight clearance to depart to a destination that was not as filed by the Flight Dispatcher,” she said.
The association, therefore, faulted the move by the airline to sanction the on-duty flight dispatcher that had acted as required by the law, describing the action as an abuse of aviation rules.
FLIDAN, the umbrella body of flight dispatchers in Nigeria called on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to beam its search light on the operations control of the airline, which has allegedly seized operational control from the flight dispatcher.
The apex regulatory body, NCAA, yesterday, said investigation was still ongoing. Already, NCAA has suspended the operations of leased aircraft in the UNA fleet, as a precautionary measure. Also, the Federal Government has directed a modification in the operation of wet-leased aircraft in the country, especially deployment of all foreign crewmembers, to ease communication.
