Keyamo commissions NCAA flight data centre

Amid efforts to improve aviation safety in the country, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has commissioned the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) Flight Data Centre (FDC).

The minister, during the commissioning, explained that the centre would help improve flight tracking patterns, human efforts, and mechanical data, as well as offer advice on how to improve the sector and better regulate it.

While stressing that the facility speaks to one of their five-point agendas, which focuses on safety improvement in the aviation sector, he said the ministry is concentrating on improving safety within the sector, as well as the rating by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

In his remarks at the event, the Acting Director-General, Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo explained that Annex 19 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation mandates all states to establish safety data collection and processing systems (SDCPS) to capture, store, aggregate, and enable the analysis of safety data and safety information. This is a hallmark of an effective State Safety Programme (SSP).

He said that beyond the cost savings and efficiency benefits the Authority would gain, the facility would help reduce the “likelihood of costly accidents and incidents; support the implementation of risk-based oversight through efficient allocation of resources to areas of higher risk; and align NCAA with global best practices, boosting international confidence in Nigerian aviation safety standards.”

Capt. Najomo also said that the NCAA entered into collaboration with APS Aerospace Corporation, which possesses more than 100 years of combined experience in Flight Data and Cockpit/ATC Audio Analysis.

Some other key benefits he listed include: enhanced safety oversight, proactively detecting potential safety risks, enabling data-driven decision-making to prevent serious incidents and accidents, and offering critical insights into flight events leading to incidents. It also improves the quality and speed of incident investigations.