Ojikutu questions rationale behind shipping Suntai’s aircraft engine abroad five years on

CHIEF Executive of Centurion Securities, Group Captain John Ojikutu has questioned the rationale behind carrying out an investigation on late Governor Danbaba Suntai’s aircraft engine siting long-term exposure of the engine to weather for years.

In a reaction to the Accident Investigation Bureau(AIB) declaration that it would be taking the aircraft of the late governor to North America to carry out investigation, Ojikutu asked if there had been any safety recommendations made from the preliminary reports and made available to other agencies.

Late Suntai’s aircraft, a Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ crashed in Taraba State in October 2012 almost five years ago.

He questioned if AIB had been able to determine in its preliminary report if the pilot had a current license or if the aircraft was certified for single pilot operations.

Reacting to Nigerianflightdeck.com, Ojikutu asked: “what report do you expect again from the NTSB on another aircraft engine that had been exposed to weather for five years and we’re not preserved?”

“What safety recommendations had been made from the preliminary investigation reports? Have these safety recommendations made available to the NCAA and other relevant agencies like Nimet and NAMA?”

“We want to know if the pilot had a current license; whether the aircraft had a valid air worthiness certificate, whether the aircraft was certified for single pilot operations, whether the pilot had valid IFR and instrument certification?”

“whether the flight had approved flight plan or clearance for VFR or IFR flight plan from departure to destination at the time the flight plan was submitted or at the time of departure?”

These, according to Ojikutu, are necessary for immediate safety recommendations if they have not been made.

“Moreover, it is curious what is the need and why the urgency now for sending aircraft engine to the United States laboratory for ‘teardown’ could the need be because the pilot died, there are needs from the aircraft insurance claim by the family of the pilot?”

” whichever, my take is for the AIB to generate safety recommendations from the flight plan and flight operation for the regulatory agency and other relevant operators. Period.”