Dana Must Resume Flight Operations — ART

A group of aviation analysts and professionals under the aegis of Aviation Round Table, ART, have said that Dana Air, the airline whose plane crashed on 3 June must not remain grounded for long.

“I believe that an airline such as Dana should not be left on ground perpetually, otherwise, we are hurting ourselves the more by doing that, “ ART President, Captain Dele Ore, said yesterday at a press conference in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

While acknowledging that there would be public outcry if Dana were allowed to resume flight operations immediately, Captain Ore argued that internationally and for airlines with various types of aircraft, a primary investigation is quickly conducted and if the management is exonerated, only the type of aircraft involved in the accident would be examined thoroughly while the rest of the fleet continues to fly unhindered.

But in Dana’s case, he said, with only one type of aircraft, the airline must not be grounded perpetually.

“I believe that if any airline is going to crash today it’s not likely to be Dana,” Ore said without elaborating.

ART in a prepared press statement read by the organisation’s Secretary General, Mr. Sam Owolabi Akerele, also called on the Ministry of Aviation to release the departure time of the ill-fated plane.

“It can for instance prove that the aircraft might have run out of fuel,” Akerele said.

The aviation analysts also argued that under section 38 of the Nigerian constitution, the National Assembly can investigate some aspects of Dana Air, adding that setting up another administrative panel to probe another aspect of Dana Air is “an aberration and illegality.”

ART also argued that the Senate recommendation to President Goodluck Jonathan for the DG, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, to step aside is against all international norms.

ART further said that while the Senate is empowered by the constitution to investigate all agencies and organisations in Nigeria, the responsibility to investigate aircraft accident does not rest on the Senate but the Accident Investigation Bureau. The analysts also described as crummy the coroner inquest conducted by the Lagos State Government, saying that it should be when the cause of death is suspicious or unusual.

ART said it disagrees with those who claim Nigeria does not have adequate aviation laws to regulate the industry.

—Simon Ateba