Accident looms as pilots lament poor communication in airspace
Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo
Pilots flying in the Nigerian airspace have warned that urgent steps should be taken by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to address the communication problem that pilots are experiencing while flying in order to avert air accidents.
They gave the warning during the Aviation Round Table Quarterly meeting themed: “Safety Challenges in Air Navigation and Air Traffic Service Delivery in Nigeria” at the Goldview Hotel & Suites, GRA Lagos.
Speaking during the meeting, the Chief Pilot of Med-View Airline, Captain Stephen Fevrier, said that pilots are flying in an unsafe airspace in the country due to poor communication system.
Fevrier, who scored NAMA about 50% based on their service delivery, stressed that they needed to do more because the airspace is still unsafe for pilots to fly.
He said: “I came to Nigeria about 12 years ago and the first thing that we were told to learn as pilots is to say break-break when you get into the airspace and that is because the airspace is congested. I must say that the airspace is still congested and unsafe for pilots to fly.”
According to him, when flying from Lagos to Abuja, pilots often lose contact with the Lagos control tower 200 miles into the airspace which should not be the case.
He lamented that the same situation occurred between Port Harcourt and Abuja, pointing out that even coming into Nigerian airspace from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, pilots hardly communicate effectively with the control tower in Kano.
Fevrier added: “In Kano, if you are coming from Jeddah to enter Nigerian airspace, you can’t speak to Kano. You have to wait until you get into an 100 miles into Kano most times.
“Haven said that even with the rains 200 miles from Lagos becomes 150 miles. We really have communication issues in the Nigerian airspace and that needs to be addressed urgently.”
Speaking in the same vein, Arik Air Safety Manager, Captain Jide Bakare, said that the biggest issue that Nigerian pilots are currently grappling with is the problem of communication in the airspace.
Bakare said: ”There are so many issues but communication is one of the biggest challenges that we face as pilots in Nigerian airspace. Captain Stephen has made mention of how difficult it is for us as pilots to communication while flying in the Nigerian airspace.”
Meanwhile, Retired Air Pilot, Captain Prekeme Porbeni, lamented that the Total Radar Coverage that NAMA often brags about that is working is absolutely wrong, stressing that the present day pilots in Nigeria are suffering while pilots in other nations around us are doing well because they have better airspace and good communication system.
According to Porbeni foreign airlines often go through the airspace in Ghana before coming to Nigeria because they have a better airspace more than us.
He said: “Repeatedly we kept on hearing the word; we have Total Radar Coverage. The answer is absolutely no. It is because any aeroplane or airborne machine flying in the Nigerian airspace can be detected but there is lack of communication between the pilots in the airspace and the Air Traffic Controllers at the towers.”
