In 10 years from now, Nigeria’s aviation industry would be 100 years old. It has just clocked 90 years on November 1, 2015, which calls for celebration and reflections on the milestones and woes recorded in Nigeria’s aviation sector in the 90-year period. PAUL CHIAMA and ANDREW ESSIEN x-ray the industry from its inception to date.
In Nigeria, aviation, in its holistic terms, is a spin-off of the British colonial government. It dates back to
1925 when, in the traditionally commercial, ancient, walled city of Kano, ordinarily known for buying and selling and the popular dye pit in its Kofar Mata, a Bristol fighter plane landed in the horse race course ground otherwise called Polo Club, Kano.
For Kano, it was particularly historic; for Nigeria, it was also historic. Expectedly, the first aircraft to land in Nigeria would have been expected to land in Lagos which was then the seat of power for the British colonial government in Nigeria. However, a top colonial authority had given an order from London which necessitated the landing of the aircraft in Kano.
LEADERSHIP Friday checks revealed that sometime in July, 1925, the Northern city was gripped by a tense deadlock between the Kano residents and officials of the colonial government. Naturally, the British government would like to forestall or quell such stand-off and bring the natives under control to say a submissive ‘yes’ to its ordinances.
Incidentally, then, the British government at the time was maintaining an active Royal Air Force (RAF) Base in Khartoum, Sudan and Helwan, Egypt. So, sensing that there would soon be trouble in Kano, the British government in London quickly signalled the commanding officer of the Khartoum RAF Squadron, and ordered him to fly to the Northern Nigerian city and report on the situation.
Following the instruction, the commanding officer set out on the assignment. For him, it must be a mission to be conclusively accomplished, considering that the British authority had placed much confidence on him.
The air trip was led by then Flight Lt Coningham, who began from Helwan, a town near Cairo, Egypt, where the RAF also had a base, to Kano. However, he made several stopovers in Egypt, Sudan and N’Djamena – then known as Fort Lamy.
The flight operation involved three De Havilland DH 9A aircrafts belonging to the RAF. As Vincent Orange, a writer, stated in his book, the “Coningham: A Biography of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham”, the plane landed on a polo ground outside Kano’s ancient walls at 5.10 pm on 1 November, 1925. That was on the sixth day of the journey.
As Mr Orange recalls in his account, the venture was to be led by Coningham. “His major problems would be navigation and engines. Although there were wireless telegraphy stations at some points along the route, the aircraft carried no transmitting or receiving equipment and had to rely on compasses and on maps which were nearly useless. The engines, reconditioned American ‘Liberty’ engines of 400 hp, had an unreliable record, so Coningham decided to run them gently, reducing the DH 9a’s normal cruising speed from 90 to 80 mph.”
“The aircraft took off from Helwan at 7am on 27 October, waved away by a large gathering of soldiers and airmen and landed at Wadi Haifa – 644 miles south of Helwan – after eight hours and twenty minutes in the air, all three pilots aching in arms and chest because, as Coningham frankly admitted, he had misjudged their weight distribution and they flew tail-eavy. Fortunately, this first day of their journey was both the longest and hardest of the 16 they spent in the air. At Wadi Haifa, Coningham boldly reduced the load carried and, taking off at 4.50 am next morning, they reached Khartoum at noon. With a lighter, better distributed load, it proved a faster and more comfortable journey”.
It was a breath- taking but safe landing. That singular ground-breaking incident went down in history as the first recorded aviation activity in Nigeria.
Despite that there were stiff difficulties since there were no established air routes, reliable maps or radio communications, he still thought it could be a successful, eventful and historic mission which must not be waved away because of fear. So, without air routes, maps or radio communications, the flight was regarded as a particularly suicidal and hazardous operation. So alarmed were officials that an idea was mooted that if Khartoum-Kano was ever to be made an air route, it would be necessary to have emergency landing grounds every 20 miles of the way.
Gradually, the era of commercial aviation set in. The earliest known commercial aviation activity in Nigeria is credited to one gentle man, “Bud” Carpenter, who owned the earliest type of the Light aircraft, de Havilland Moth. According to records, he frequently undertook high-risk flights between Kano and Lagos, using the rail tracks as his guide and piling up extra distance in the process.
As air transportation became more embraced as a fast means of transportation, both public and private investment in aviation became a popular trend. Nigeria, as a country, founded an airline, its own national carrier, known as Nigerian Airways.
The airline was founded on August 23, 1958 and was then known as West African Airways Corporation (Nigeria Limited) – WAAC Nigeria. It was also known as Nigerian Airways. The airline succeed the WAAC which had then gone moribund and folded.
In the beginning, the Nigerian Airways had a tripartite spread of ownership in which the Nigerian government, as the major shareholder, owned 51% share, and Elder Dempster Lines and BOAC had 32⅔ and 16⅓, respectively.
The new airline, then, inherited some aircrafts previously owned by WAAC. It commenced operations on October 1, 1958, with a BOAC Stratocruiser, operated on behalf of the new airline linking London with Lagos. The same day, WAAC Nigeria signed a 15-year agreement with BOAC to charter Stratocruisers and Britannias for serving long-haul flights between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
As at 2003 when the Nigerian Airways stopped operations, it had merely recorded a 45-year period of existence. Then, when it ceased operation and got grounded, Mr Peter Gana was its chief executive officer (CEO). The development was shocking to Nigerians, especially travellers who had often preferred to board Nigerian Airways flights in their air trips. Particularly, it was shocking because in its heydays in the 1980s, the Nigerian Airways had 30 aircrafts in its fleet – which was a good number to be able to sustain and consolidate the operation of a national carrier.
FIRST NIGERIAN TO FLY A PLANE
As at the time the nationalists were in the struggle to liberate the country from colonialism, Capt Hayes was busy nurturing the idea to be a pilot, even though the business of flying at the time was monopolised by the British. This was the time of British Overseas Airways Corporation, BOAC, which dovetailed into the West African Airways Corporation, WAAC.
In 1955, he became the first Nigerian to be certified a pilot, five years before independence in 1960. Meanwhile, the first Aeroplane landed in Kano in the year 1925 while Captain Chinyere Onyemachara was the first female pilot in Nigeria.
Born on May 13, 1935, in Benin City, Edo State, Capt Hayes attended St. Patrick Catholic School, Sapele, Delta State and Government College, Warri (now Government College, Ugheli) also in Delta State. He picked up interest in flying while watching the Royal Marine officers on duty in Sapele in the 50s and desired to join the Royal Air Force.
After series of interviews, three Nigerian students on scholarship, Hayes, Joseph Ajakaiye and Samuel Ohioma, left the country on August 9, 1953, to train as first set of Nigerian pilots. They trained at the Flying School, Hamble, Southampton.
In May 1955, at the age of 20 years, Hayes became the first Nigerian to get certified as a pilot with the Commercial Pilot License and returned to Nigeria in June 1955 to join the West Africa Airways Corporation, WAAC.
Between 1956 and 1960, the young Nigerian pilots in WAAC were allowed to fly as co-pilots on the local routes, along with the British and European pilots. They were flying the B170, B114 and B104 aircraft.
In 1962, Hayes and Rufus Orimoloye were sent for the Senior Commercial Pilot License training where they were made to fly the DC3 aircraft. While in training, they were promoted to be Captains. When they returned home, they were asked to go for further training on F27 aircraft which the country’s airline, Nigeria Airways, had acquired.
The Nigerian pilots were able to start flying the international routes eventually in 1962 when the Nigeria Airways was formed. Hayes also became the first Nigerian pilot to fly into New York and served as acting managing director of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways. Many pilots at that time passed through the supervision of Captain Bob Hayes. He retired in 1990 after attaining the mandatory 35 years in service.
He was the first Nigerian pilot to attain that age in service. He worked on contract as a training captain and examiner, thereafter. Hayes flew for 40 years in control and four years on contract consulting for Nigeria Airways.
TIME LINE OF AIR CRASHES IN NIGERIA
Deaths recorded in air crashes are more than any form of transportation in the world. The state of emergence of air mishap is nothing to write home about. On March 1st, 1978, Nigeria Airways, F28-1000 crashed in Kano, killing 16, November 28, 1983: Nigeria Airways F28-1000 crashed on approaching Enugu killing, 53 on board. December 1988: Sky power Brandeironate aircraft overshot Ilorin Airport runway, all the passengers died. On 26 June 1990, Okada Air BAC-111 Sokoto, Nigeria fuel starvation during holding pattern over Sokoto due to heavy rain. Flight from Benin City diverted from Kano due to heavy rain. None of the three crew members and three of the 52 passengers sustained fatal injuries. February 24, 1991: British Helicopter crashed in Eketi, Akwa Ibom State, killing all nine people on board. May 21, 1991: A Cessna citation 550 of Ashaka cement Gombe, crashed, killing all on board. June 26, 1991: An Okada air BA-111 crashed in Sokoto three people died. July 11, 1991; Nigeria Airways DC 8-61 crashed in Jeddah Saudi Arabia from system failure, killing 261 on board. September 26, 1992: Nigerian Air force AC-130 plane crashes minutes after take-off from Lagos, all 200 on board were killed. June 24, 1995: Harka Air services Tupoleo 34 crashed on landing in Lagos, killing 16. Again, November 13, 1995: Nigeria Airways Boeing 737-2F9 crashed on landing in Kaduna, killing 9. January 17, 1996: Ibrahim Abacha, son of Sani Abacha was killed in a plane crash. The group United front for Nigeria’s liberation (UFNL) claimed responsibility for the crash. November 7, 1996: A Nigerian Aviation Development Corporation (ADC) Airline Boeing 727-23 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and 9 crew members crashed on landing, plunging into a Lagoon will all on board killed. January 31, 1997, Sky power Express Airways Embrear 110IA crashed on landing in Yola, killing five. September 12, 1997: A NAF Dornier 228-212 in Nguru, Bornu State ran into a ditch during the take-off, none of the 10 people died. January 5, 2000 Sky power Express Airways Bandeirante 110IA crashed on landing in Abuja, killing 17. October 26, Dornier aircraft plunged into a thick bush near the Niger Delta with six occupants injured. May 4, 2002 EAS Airlines BAC 1-11 500 with 105 people on board crashed and burst into planes in a poor densely populated suburb of Kano, 76 on board killed including 72 on the ground bringing it to a total 148 dead.
On November 30, 2003: a cargo aircraft of Hydro cargo Brussets, Belgium, crash landed, March 6, 2004,an aenail spray aircraft with registration number 5NBEF belonging to Barfreex Nigeria limited, crashed at Bauchi Airport. July 26, 2004: Pan African Airline’s helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in Eacravos, Delta state, four people on board died, on December 29, 2004 A Kenya Airlines aircraft crashed landed at the MMA due to gear fault. January 28, 2005 ADC‘s B73 aircraft had its tire burnt while landing at Yola airport. March 27, 2005: A Boeing 737 of Belleview had one of its engines caught fire. June 11 and 12, 2005 Lagos a Boeing 727-200 aircraft belonging to the domestic Chachangi Airlines overshot the runway at Muritala Mohammed Airport, while yet another overshot their runway at airport in Jos in central Nigeria a day earlier.
June 24, 2005, a Russian aircraft, belonging to Harka Air crash landed at the MMA, all the people on board died. July 6, 2005 Port Harcourt, an Air France A330 plane crashed into a herd cattle at Port Harcourt airport sustaining serious damage and killing many of the cows. The airport had no perimeter fence and herdsmen usually took their cattle across the tarmac, sometimes abandoning them there. On July 23, 2005 a Lufthansa aircraft crash-landed at Lagos airport and was badly damaged, but no life was lost. October 22, 2005: a Belleview airplane, Boeing 737 airliner with 117 people on board crashed and disintegrated in flames shortly after take-off from Lagos, all on board were killed. December 10, 2005 A Soliso Airlines DC-9 crashed in Port Harcourt, killing all 103 on board, most on board where school children going home for Christmas.
September 17, 2006, an 18-Seater Dornier 228 Air for transport plane, carrying 15 senior army officers and three crew members crashed leaving only three survivors that sustained serious injuries. The plane with registration number 228-212 crashed in the northern part of the country at Oko village in Vandeikya local government area of Benue State at about 10: 3am. October 29, 2006: Aviation Development Corporation Airline, Boeing 737 with 104 on board crashed minutes after take-off from Abuja‘s airport during a rain storm, All but six perished in the disaster. The spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Sunni Muslims, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Alhaji Muhammad Maccido was among the dead.
November 10, 2006 OAS service Helicopter crashed in Warri, Delta State killing 4 on board, august 2 2007: Bristow owned helicopter crashed inside ExxonMobil facility in Port Harcourt. March 15 2008: Beech craft 1900 plane marked 5N-JAH, belonging to wing Aviation crashed in the mountainous forest of bush in Cross River State on its way to Obudu airstrip. The wreckage was not found until six months after the sudden disappearance of the aircraft, all members of the four man crew on board died. March 14, 2012: a Helicopter belonging to the Joint Task force (JTF) crashed in Kabong, Jos killing all members on board including four senior police officers. On Saturday 2, 2012: DHV 111 cargo aircraft, Nigerian plane crashed in Accra Ghana, killing 10, one female and nine males.
As Nigerians were still mourning the irreparable loss of lives in Ghana, another plane mishap occurred. A Dana airline commercial aircraft crashed at Iju-Ishaga, Lagos. It claimed about 170 lives and property worth billions of naira were destroyed, one of the worst air crashes in Nigeria‘s history.
PROBLEMS FACING THE AVIATION INDUSTRY
Lack Of Coherent Air Transport Policies: The early history of transportation development in Nigeria was marked by an attempt at coordination. However such attempts were virtually abandoned in later years. The result of this is that the Nigerian Airways was declared bankrupt and replaced with a private/ public airliner. Other African countries such as Cameroun and Ghana still have their national carriers Cameroun Airlines (CAMAIR) and Ghana Airlines. The demise of the Nigerian Airways is a clear indication of lack of coherent policies which paved way for the death of the national carrier. Furthermore, if there is a coherent policy, major airports in the country should have been expanded and modernised long time ago as many of the airports were built in the 1970s with an old architectural design. There is the need for a coherent policy that will ensure balance between the needs of the society and the economy for adequate transport facilities and the ability of the transport sector to meet such demands.
Decayed Facilities: But for recent interventions, facilities provided at the nation’s International Airports at Lagos and Kano were overstretched. Facilities such as seats, air conditioning system, conveyor belt, toilet facilities and others were nothing to write about. This is directly proportional to the fact that they are not upgraded based on the increase in human traffic. Some of these airports have no trolleys to carry passenger’s load and as such passengers go through difficulties before boarding a flight. While passengers and cargo traffic have increased over the years, the infrastructure provided has not experienced a corresponding overhaul and expansion. The decaying facilities especially at international airports give the country a bad image as airports are the first port of call for foreigners coming into the country. Airport infrastructures are vital to the economic growth of any nation.
Poor Management: There is no gain saying that the transport corporations and even the transport systems are poorly managed. This explains the management agreements between the Nigerian Airways and the Royal Dutch Airline in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1999, bad management led to a crisis in the Nigerian Civil Aviation industry following the decline and near collapse of the Nigerian Airways. This bad management finally resulted in the Nigerian Airways being declared bankrupt in 2004. The resultant effect was a sharp reduction in the number of airplanes in the fleet of the Nigerian Airways. For example, in 1979, the nation could boast of 29 well maintained and functional aircrafts in the fleet of the Nigerian Airways flying locally and internationally, but by 1999, only two were left functional. The same cannot be said as of today.
Recurrent Air Crashes: There are intermittent air crashes in Nigeria which damages the safety record of airlines in the country. This also makes passengers to be afraid of traveling by air, as air crashes are fatal. For example, in October, 2005, 117 people were killed when Belleview Airline’s Boeing 737, bound for Abuja came down shortly after taking off from Lagos. In December of the same year, a Sosoliso Airline DC-9 crashed in Port Harcourt, killing 103 people on board. The closure of Port Harcourt International Airport was to prevent further air crashes after the Sosoliso Crash.
Security: it is needless to say that our airports are so porous that a young lad, very recently, could hide inside a plane thinking that the flight was bound for Europe. It is because the perimeters were not solid enough. The lack of perimeter fencing allowed grazing by the runway of some airports. For example, in 2005, an Air France flight crashed on cows on the runway of Port Harcourt International Airport, killing seven of them and damaging the landing gear of the airplane. Besides, the roads leading to some airports are not secured, as armed robbers and militants attack travellers. These robbery incidents occur due to lose security along roads leading to airports which need to be secured for the safety of travellers and their properties. There are also petty thieves in some airports who capitalise on the loose security to break into visitors’ cars and carry handy belongings. Also all kinds of people are found at the airport due to loose security.
Solutions: The Way Forward For The Aviation Industry
Just like many other sectors, the aviation industry is facing many problems and challenges. The challenges in the industry are affecting the smooth operation and management of the industry. The challenges range from the skyrocketing of aviation fuel experienced by airlines, lack of economic regulation of the airlines, dwindling fortunes of domestic airlines, minister’s interference with the job of the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), domestic airlines merger to the issue of establishing a new national carrier to take the place of Nigerian Airways.
Other problems in the sector include the issue of ageing work force, inadequate Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), inadequate facilities at airport, absence of training school for aviation fire fighters, lack of maintenance hangar and airlines indebtedness among others.
Stakeholders have often expressed worries over the bottlenecks in the aviation industry. They have at one time or the other, attempted to proffer workable and realistic solutions to these problems.
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