ASSOCIATED AIRLINES AIRCRAFT THAT CRASHED WAS MEANT FOR A TEST FLIGHT

 
Senator Smart Adeyemi on Tuesday told the Senate that the crashed Associated Airlines aircraft was actually meant for a test flight but picked passengers because of corruption in the aviation industry. He said: “I gathered that the plane was meant to fly to Akure on test flight and only engineers were supposed to be aboard but someone wanted to make fast money and carried passengers.

“It appears those at the helm of affairs at the aviation ministry are not professionally grounded in the technical aspects of the aviation industry.
“The Senate would do the nation a great deal by looking at the owners of the ill-fated aircraft because the aviation regulators know airlines that cut corners.”

However, other Senators  who spoke on a day the Senate summoned the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, to brief it at plenary on the state of the aviation sector condemned the increasing number of plane crashes in the country and the inability of relevant agencies to unearth the causes of the incidents.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said:

“The resurgence of plane crashes in the country since 2011 is suggestive of a deep seated system problem that must be unravelled and resolved in order to avert further loss of lives,”

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe observed that: “There is a systemic problem bordering on the manner the regulators are doing their job.
“We need to ensure that our investigation goes beyond the surface dressing.”

While Senator George Sekibo suggested that : “The aviation committee has more work to do than the entire Senate.

“We need to support it (committee) by engaging technical experts to certify the status of all aircraft operating within our aviation industry.”

In his contribution, Senator Barnabas Gemade  faulted  the  system, which allowed professionals in the regulatory agencies to go unpunished for negligence. “Today, nobody pays attention to negligence.” We need to do something about professionals in the regulatory agencies who earn promotions sitting in the office while their inexperienced subordinates are out in the field.” Gemade noted.

Senator Bukola Saraki said that: “All the reports of previous investigations must be implemented.

“Until people are held responsible and accountable for their negligence, nothing is going to change.”

In her own contribution,Senator Oluremi Tinubu advised the aviation authorities to desist from politicising the loss of lives as a result of recurrent incidents of plane crashes in the country.

 “Senate committee on aviation should look at the entire sector.
“We should stop playing politics with the lives of others.”Tinubu said.

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, who presided over the plenary, said: “The regulations and standards are the same all over the world, but the problem here has to do with those who enforce the regulations.

“We must stand up as Senate and National Assembly to ensure that those who are supposed to enforce these standards do them without fear or favor.

“That is why it is important to call on our committee to intensify action to ensure that every regulation is enforced no matter who is involved.”