DG NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu delivering a paper at the AIB/LAAC one day conference in Lagos
In 2019 Commercial aviation Accident report globally reveals that the Africa Indian Ocean, AFI region to which Nigeria belong recorded 183 fatalities in 9 accidents in an estimated 1,130,861 departures followed by Europe with 55 fatalities in 29 accidents and an estimated departures of 9,826,990.
The reports also indicated that globally 239 fatalities were recorded with an estimated departures of 38,789, 283.
Reeling out the figures at a one day conference by the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria, AIB-N in collaboration with the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondent, LAAC, in Lagos, the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu noted that every accident was a global tragedy, adding that the global accident rates according to records have continued to increase from 2015-2019.
“In 2015, 92 accidents with the accident at 2.8, 2016, 75(2.1), 2017, 88(2.4), 2018, 98(2.6) and 2019, 114(2.9).
Captain Nuhu started that it behoves on investigation authorities to unravel the probable causes and contributory factors of these accidents, make recommendations to prevent a recurrence.
“Develop appropriate Safety Recommendations that are based on safety risk assessments and cost-benefit analysis; and Prevent reoccurrence and improve safety records”.
In Nigeria according to Capt. Nuhu, the regulatory agency and the AIB were working together promote air safety, adding that there was a committee in place that is alive to this responsibility.
“All we have done is to make the committee more active, more alive to its responsibilities and as a regulatory agency we must work together with them”.
“Apart from being a regulatory requirement we cannot enhance the safety of the industry without working together, if there is any accidents or incidents or whatever, AIB investigates it and in the process of their investigation, they could find NCAA derelict in its responsibilities that is why you have independent body that is rare but still that is why you have an independent body to that and they made recommendations”.
Capt. Nuhu emphasized that, as the regulator, they sit down with AIB and review the recommendations to make sure that these are recommendations they can implement without violating other regulations or require the changing of some of its regulations to resolve this problem.
“And also the recommendations are cost effective, so we just have to work together it is for the benefit of the industry, we all have the same goal, improving on safety and prevention of accidents and incidents”.
The one day conference with the theme: “Prevention of Human Factors in Air Accident Occurrence”, the NCAA DG stressed that more than 70% of aircraft accidents and incidents were traceable to human factors causes while others are weather, equipment, maintenance, airport/ATC and others.
He defined human factor as “Matching the Man (Person) to the Job and Matching the Job to the Man under the prescribed conditions”. This implies compatibility of the person to the job i.e. preparing, adapting, enabling, equipping and conforming the person to perform the assigned task to achieve the design and expected objectives. Any mismatch will contribute to human error and is a precursor to an accident”.
One of the best ways to explain the “Human Factors” contributory role in aviation accidents is a review of the “SHELL” Model made popular by Hawkins in 1987, which is a conceptual tool used to analyze the interaction of multiple system components including interactions with other Liveware (L). In the SHELL Model the other components are classified as: Software (S): Current, effective and applicable laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, instructions, directives, Standard Operating Procedures etc. and the norms and best practices that establishes and ensures the implementation of the functions, responsibilities and accountabilities of an organization.
Other ways to explain the human factors contributory role in aviation accidents Capt. Nuhu says, falls under Hardware (H): Most commonly referred to as the human-machine systems interface. And may include the operating equipment (aircraft, simulator), displays matching the sensory and information processing characteristics of the operator and controls with proper movement etc.; and Environment (E): Which refers to those interactions which may or may not be out of the direct control of humans, namely the physical e.g. temperature, weather, etc., physiological and psychological environments but within which aircraft operations must continue to take place.
“Amongst these different components of the SHELL Model, the Liveware is the critical focus and represents the human component of the aviation ecosystem. These are the frontline personnel (flight crews, engineers and maintenance personnel, DATCOs) and the management and administration staff, who are usually removed far away from the frontline, but whose decisions impact massively on the outcomes of the operations.
Human Factors in aviation occurrences is therefore most times seen as the negative consequence of the liveware dimension in this interactive ecosystem.”
He appealed to participants at the conference to critically review the relationship between the liveware components and the other components of the aviation ecosystems, devise means towards achieving an effective and seamless safe aircraft operation and thereto preventing accidents due to human errors.
Capt. Nuhu listed areas of consideration to include, individual and organizational compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements, conformance to approved policies and procedures and continuous initial and recurrent trainings.
Others are; reporting systems and just Culture, faithful implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) and application of appropriate enforcement actions.
