Old Airliners Come Under Review
Twice is apparently
enough in Nigeria. After two aviation tragedies since October -- including last weekend's accident
involving a Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 that claimed 103
lives -- the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
has ordered spot checks on all Boeing 737-100s and -200s in service
in that country. The airliners will be grounded until they can be
inspected in accordance with an Airworthiness Directive issued more
than five years ago by the FAA in Washington.
Nigerian media reports state 18 aircraft in all are affected by
the action, flying for airlines such as EAS Airlines, Space World,
Trans Sahara, and Bellview -- the airline whose 732 went down
outside Lagos on October 23 (file photo of aircraft, below). Only
Aero Contractors, which operates the more-advanced B737-300 series,
is exempt from the NCAA's grounding action.
"This AD came about as a result of the aforementioned identified
unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on the
airplanes of the same type design. In this regard, as a
precautionary measure, all operators of Boeing Model 100, 200 and
200C series airplanes registered or operating in Nigeria are
required to immediately ground their airplanes, for accomplishment
of this AD," said an NCAA representative.
The AD in question -- issued July 28, 2000 by the FAA --
concerns stress corrosion cracks in a spar located in the
center-front of the horizontal stabilizer. The AD states cracks
were found by maintenance personnel during routine checks of two
B737-100 and -200 series airplanes, noting that "this repetitive
inspection was therefore called up to address the identified unsafe
condition."
There's no explanation of why the Nigerian government has
decided only now to implement the AD -- and, for that matter, why
only 737s are coming under scrutiny. Since the Bellview accident,
the state of the entire Nigerian airline industry has been
questioned by many analysts, who have claimed the country lacks
sufficient funding and oversight to keep its fleet of older
aircraft safely in the air. The European Union cited the Bellview
crash -- the first for that airline in its 13-year history -- as
yet another reason for a "blacklist" of airlines forbidden to fly
in the union.
While it's not difficult to argue it took Nigeria too long to
implement the Airworthiness Directive, it can't be denied when they
make a decision in Nigeria... they mean right now. Thousands of
passengers at the international airport in Lagos were stranded at
the terminal as the aircraft they were scheduled to fly on where
grounded at the gate, forcing those passengers to find other ways
to get where they were going.