Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has commenced the re-training of its personnel in a bid to curb the incessant air mishaps in the Nigerian military and ensure the safety of its crew.
Gatekeepers News reports that the training comes weeks after a recent crash that claimed the life of immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru.
NAF Director of Training, Air Commodore Esen Efanga while speaking to reporters on Saturday, disclosed that the Chief of Air Staff approved the training to enable the crew to be up to speed with global best practices and reduce human factors that cause air crashes.
He said, “We have discovered that in the world, most of accidents and incidents have bee attributed to human factors which the human being is the most critical aspect of the aviation sector.
“We have also discovered that most of the accidents do not have to do with the technical abilities of the crew, but rather the interface between the human-and-human, and the human-and-the-aircraft.”
“Because at this point, we are involved in several operations all over the country, this does not come without risks that we have seen in the air force of recent involving incidents and accidents,” Efanga added.
According to him, the training is the first in a series of training that would be done in all operational units at various centres all over Nigeria.
He stated that the crew were trained by very seasoned and experienced resource persons who were certified to impart such knowledge.
“It is the Chief of Air Staff’s intention to establish a culture of safety in the Nigerian Air Force so that while we have increased and enhanced our operations, we take care of this critical aspect of NAF operations,” he said.
Gatekeepers News reports that on May 21, Attahiru, who was appointed as the COAS in January, died in a plane crash in Kaduna alongside 10 other personnel of the Nigerian Army and NAF.
Earlier this year, Beechcraft KingAir B350i had crashed at Bassa village in Abuja while en route to Minna and seven NAF personnel had died in the mishap. The personnel on board had reported an engine failure and were on their way back to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport before the aircraft crashed.
Also, NAF Alpha Jet aircraft had gone missing after it lost contact with radar on March 31 while on an operation in Borno State and was found to have crashed days later.
