The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has taken a significant step towards enhancing its flight calibration unit with the presentation of two newly trained pilots.
The General Manager in charge of flight calibration services in the agency, Mr. Selzing Miri, while presenting the two pilots to the managing Director, NAMA, Mr. Umar Farouk, said, this move is part of NAMA’s efforts to develop its capacity after taking over the calibration aircraft from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
According to him, the agency had been in need of its own pilots to man the aircraft for future uses.
To address this, Mr. Miri said, two NAMA staff who are already pilots were sent to Dubai for type rating training on the King Air 350i aircraft used for flight calibration exercises.
He praised Mr. Umar Farouk, for his passion and commitment to developing the unit, ensuring the young pilots receive the necessary training to become full-fledged calibration pilots.
Mr. Miri, who is also the President, National Association of Air Traffic Engineers, NAAE, stated that, the development of NAMA’s flight calibration capacity is expected to enhance the country’s aviation infrastructure and provide new revenue streams through the provision of calibration services to other countries.
He said, the development of the calibration unit began in 2019 under the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, with the goal of building capacity to keep the country’s navigational facilities current.
The flight calibration unit comprises pilots, aircraft engineers, and flight inspectors, with the training of flight inspectors already advanced and nearing completion.
The NAAE president noted that this is a continuous process, with the ultimate aim of making Nigeria’s flight calibration fully functional and extending its services to neighboring countries and beyond.
With the checking out of the flight calibration crew, he said, Nigeria is moving closer to attaining the capacity to render services not only domestically but also internationally, with NAMA possessing all the necessary requirements to do so.
