NCAA cautions airlines, pilots over harmattan

THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Monday alerted airlines and pilots on the dangers inherent in the current harmattan haze experienced across the country.
Meanwhile, contrary to insinuations by the House of Representatives that NCAA does not have qualified or competent engineers to certify MD 83 aircraft, attributing it to the crash of Dana Air’s ill-fated flight, the agency said the allegation was not correct.
According to the advisory circular, AC-NCAA-AEROMET-13, endorsed by the NCAA Director-General, Dr Harold Demuren, the advisory circular is intended to alert all pilots on the hazards of harmattan haze and offer guidance to prevent accidents caused by this weather phenomenon.
Hazards and operational problems associated with harmattan are comparable to that of heavy fog. Thus, air-to-ground visibility is considerably reduced. The NCAA chief further stated that where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed weather minima, airlines and pilots should delay their flights, divert or cancel the flight outright.
NCCA spokesman, Sam Adurogboye, told reporters Monday that the agency has competent engineers for the aircraft type.