The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) expects to release its preliminary report on the Enugu Air Embraer 190 serious incident in Benin by mid-August. Meanwhile, the NSIB investigation into the VMO Aero Bombardier Challenger 601-3A landing near Asaba was complicated by an overwritten Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and an unserviceable Flight Data Recorder (FDR).
NSIB Director-General, Captain Alex Badeh Jnr, disclosed this during a recent media parley. He also expressed concern about recent aviation occurrences, particularly the Enugu Air and VMO Aero incidents. Despite no fatalities, Badeh said the developments were not enough to satisfy him.
“We have had incidents, but no fatalities. That’s good,” he said. “But I’m not particularly pleased with what I’ve seen, especially the last two incidents with what’s their name, the VMO Aero and then with the Enugu Air.”
NSIB Investigation of Enugu Air Incident Report Nears Release
The Enugu Air Embraer 190 was involved in a serious incident at Benin Airport after overrunning the runway during landing. The aircraft had 68 people on board, comprising 63 passengers and five crew members. No injuries were reported, while the NSIB launched an investigation into the occurrence.
Badeh said the emerging findings would provide greater clarity when the preliminary report is released. He added that investigators would continue examining evidence before reaching conclusions on the incident.
“So, we’ll see with the preliminary what’s going on with that one,” Badeh said. “But I’m not too pleased with that.”
The preliminary report will provide early factual information from the ongoing investigation. However, it will not necessarily establish the final cause of the serious incident.
VMO Aero Investigation Faces Recorder Challenge
The NSIB investigation into VMO Aero has faced a different challenge involving crucial flight recorder evidence. The aircraft landed on a paved roadway under construction near Asaba Airport instead of the intended runway. Seven people, including four crew members and three passengers, were on board, with no injuries recorded.
Captain Badeh said the aircraft’s CVR had only about two hours of recording capacity. He explained that the aircraft was United States-registered and operated under Part 91, which covers private, non-commercial operations.
“They weren’t subject to the rule that requires them to have the 26-hour cockpit voice recorder,” he said. “As such, they had an old solid state one that they recorded for two hours of low quality.”
The problem became more significant after the aircraft returned to Lagos following the incident. According to Badeh, the recording was overwritten before investigators could fully secure the relevant information.
“And between when the incident happened and when they took off and went back to Lagos, they overwrote everything that happened,” he said.
The FDR also presented investigators with another challenge because it was not working. The FDR normally captures aircraft performance data, including parameters that can help investigators reconstruct an occurrence.
“And, of course, the FDR of that aeroplane did not work as well,” Badeh said. “I’m not sure what happened. And I think it was part of the prelim. I’m not sure, but it didn’t work. So that was an issue.”
Despite the difficulties, Badeh said the NSIB would not blame VMO Aero before completing its investigation.
“But I’m not going to blame the operator or the airline just yet,” he said. “We’ll wait and see what the final report says on that.”
NCAA Warns Operators Over Flight Data
The VMO Aero case has also highlighted the importance of preserving recorder information after an occurrence. Badeh said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had issued two Letters of Investigation (LOIs) reminding operators to preserve flight data.
An LOI, or Letter of Investigation, is an NCAA notice informing an apparent violator that the Authority is investigating a possible regulatory breach. It also gives the affected party an opportunity to respond.
Badeh said the NSIB had also engaged operators through a workshop focused on preserving recorder information.
“They’ve put out two LOIs now, to my knowledge, reminding them to preserve data,” he said.
“We at the NSIB have had a workshop as well to operators, encouraging them to preserve data.”
However, Badeh said he had no evidence that operators deliberately destroyed investigation evidence.
“I don’t think airlines are doing anything deliberately, at least not to my knowledge,” he said.
The NSIB investigation will therefore continue using other available evidence to establish what happened during the VMO Aero occurrence.
NSIB Strengthens Safety Recommendations
Meanwhile, Badeh said the Bureau is strengthening its follow-up of safety recommendations arising from investigations. He acknowledged that the process has not always received the attention required.
“We have a working group for these safety recommendations, and they do follow back and forth on certain ones,” he said.
“But I will admit and say we have not followed up on that, you know. We’re not a perfect agency.”
The Bureau is therefore working towards establishing an Office of Safety Recommendations. Badeh said the proposed office would have dedicated personnel responsible for tracking recommendations after investigations.
“That’s why the Office of Safety Recommendations is coming in,” he said. “So, we have somebody whose job and only job in the NSIB is to follow up on these things.”
He said investigators currently handle recommendation follow-up alongside their other duties, which can stretch available resources.
The move could strengthen the impact of every NSIB investigation by ensuring recommendations are tracked beyond the publication of reports. It also comes as the Bureau prepares its Enugu Air preliminary report and continues its investigation into the VMO Aero occurrence.
For both cases, the ultimate objective remains the same: establish what happened, identify contributing factors and ensure lessons from the incidents lead to stronger transport safety measures.
