The Nigerian Aviation today lost one of its best brains, a man with many wealth of experience and a passionate aviator whose contributions had led to the safety of the industry for many years.
He is the immediate past Director General Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the apex aviation regulatory authority in Nigeria, Captain Muhtar Shaibu Usman.
He died in the early hours of today after a brief illness in a hospital in Zaria, Kaduna State. He was aged 64.
His death was announced this morning by his brother Shafil Shuaibu Usman.
In its twitter handle, the Nigerian CAA, writes, “The entire staff and Management of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) wish to announce the sudden death of its immediate past Director-General, Capt. Muhtar Shuaibu Usman.”
Captain Usman will be dearly missed by the industry especially at this time when the industry needed his wealth of experience most to survive this turbulent period of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stakeholders and friends of the industry have continued to mourn his loss and prayed God to give his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
About Late Captain Muhtar Usmam
He was born on 5th December, 1956, in the famous city of Zaria, in Kaduna State. He started his elementary education at Government Secondary Technical School, Soba and finished in 1972. In 1973, he proceeded to Government Technical College where he passed out in 1975 after obtaining Federal Craft Training Certificate.
This is where the allure of aviation kept beckoning. The young Usman got admission to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria, in 1975 to pursue a course in Aero Electronics and Telecommunication where he obtained a Diploma certificate.
The determination to get to the pinnacle of his chosen career drove him to acquire many other professional education which are as follows; City and Guilds, Radio,TV, Electronics (1977), Commercial Pilot, Multi – Engine and Instrument ratings, Burnside – Ott Aviation Training Centre, Miami USA,(1977), B – 727 Flight Engineers’ rating, Miami, USA, (1980),Flying Instructors’ rating, Oxford Air Training School, UK,1982 and Airline Transport Pilot License, New York,USA,1992.
Others are Aircraft Accident Investigation,USA, (2006), Aafety Oversight Inspectors’ course, Singapore,(2007), International Society of Air Safety Investigators’ Seminar, Singapore,(2007), Helicopter Accident Investigation, USC,USA,(2007),ICAO Organised Accident Investigation Seminar, Nairobi, Kenya,(2008) Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Course (CNS/ATM), PAN AM Academy, Miami,USA,(2008) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Course, Cranfield University (2009).
In addition, the Director General attended Airport Operations Course, Singapore (2009), ICAO Course on ECCAIRES database and exchange (2010) and Safety Management System Course, SCSI, USA, (2010).
Against this background, it shows that Capt. Usman is a versatile aviator and a complete professional whose experience has spanned three decades.
During his career, he worked as a Flying Instructor at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria from 1981 – 1985.
He proceeded to the Nigeria Airways Ltd, Lagos between 1985 – 2004 where among other assignments he flew the B 737 Aircraft. As a Fleet Captain’s Assistant, he assisted in fleet technical and operational administration.
