Following the suspension of the use of Boeing 737-Max by some countries, experts have asked the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to prevent the aircraft from operating in the country until concerns about it are addressed.
Aviation Analyst, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, told our correspondent that other regulatory agencies globally had taken decisions on the aircraft and the NCAA should do same. He advises the NCAA not to allow the B737-Max to come into Nigeria until the issues around it are cleared.
While describing the incident as unfortunate, considering Ethiopian Airlines safety record, Ohunayo said the reaction of the world should encourage the Nigerian aviation stakeholders to pay more attention to the industry.
He said that with the quality of passengers onboard the flight and their diverse nationality, the world is reacting. The lesson for us as a nation is that we need to begin to propel our airline to that strength whereby organizations will be able to stand for us. We must be able to build that same business confidence in the international community.
The President, Aviation Roundtable Initiative, Mr Gbenga Olowo, said the crash of the aircraft, being the second within five months and coming on the heels of the crash in Indonesia of the same type of aircraft, the safety of the equipment had come under scrutiny.
He stated these series of fatal accidents call to question the safety in the design of the Max 8 series by the manufacturer and its certification to fly by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the safety regulatory authority in the country of manufacturing.
Curiously, there had been no reported case of such fatal accidents of the aircraft in the US since the aircraft came into operations. Aviation analyst, Mr Chris Aligbe, however, stated that no decision could be taken now until the analysis of the black box had been concluded.
