This week’s update
A quiet week:
- On Saturday, 14 July, a taxiing Arik Air B737-700 (5N-MJI) lost its left winglet as it hit the wing of a parked Nigerian Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft at Jos Airport. According to a NAF spokesman:
An Arik Airline Boeing 737-700 with registration No 5N-MJI on a routine flight to Lagos brushed the wing of a parked Nigerian Air Force C-130 (NAF 917) at the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Heipang Jos. he incident happened at about 1345hrs today when the Arik aircraft was taxiing at the airport tarmac in preparation for take-off. The tank 1 wing tip of the NAF C-130 was damaged while the wing of the Arik aircraft was dismembered and hung on the NAF aircraft. There was no casualty recorded during the incident, however, the 2 aircraft had to abort their missions. The NAF C-130 was in Jos to airlift students of the Air Force Military School and Air Force Girls Military School. Meanwhile, a joint investigation by the Nigerian Air Force and Arik Airline management has commenced.
- Arik Air blames FAAN for the incident:
The markings on the tarmac of the Jos Airport are old markings which did not take into cognizance the use of bigger aircraft like Boeing 737-700 or 737-800 which we have in our fleet and are capable of misleading pilots during taxing. We hope this incident will make FAAN to re-do those markings.
- Caverton Helicopters has been appointed an AgustaWestland authorised service centre for the AW139 helicopter in Nigeria.
- A Nigerian helicopter flying school – the recently opened international helicopter flying school of the Nigerian Air Force at the 305 Flying Training School, Enugu – is planning to operate Robinson R66 training helicopters. Other aviation schools that are planning to offer helicopter training are NCAT, Kaduna, and IAC, Ilorin.
- The completion of the remodeling of eleven domestic airports is delayed according to the Ministry of Aviation.
Aviation in Nigeria 
1.R66 chopper seems to have a dodgy safety record.
2.I dont buy Arik’s statement. That’s why you look out whilst taxing. Ah, I remember something similar happening at the old Exec Wing in Lagos over two decades ago with a jet clipping a Herc. The expat pilot got thrown into detention for a while!
When will we stop blaming people for our mistakes, if the markings were actually the problem why was am alarm not raised before noow? What if there had been casualities will blaming others have brought the dead back to life.
Enough of innocent souls losing their lives due to others ineficiencies.
My concern is that Arik Nigeria is yet to refund my money several months after an incomplete online booking despite numerous phonecalls, mails and even visits to their branch office here in Benin City.
This is not at all solitary to Nigeria. Air Frances huge A380 turned a smaller jet 90degrees when it’s wing clipped it. Airbus couldnt have a flying display of the A380 as it clipped a building at a recent air show. At the end of the day it is up to the NCAA to update the markings if it is not adjusted for larger aircraft.
When would the Air defence of the Nigerian airspace and Territory become important to our Leaders?,,,,,,,I just checked the Nigerian Airforce website an discovered that almost all our jets are 2nd generation jets,,,no Fourth generation warplane like the Chinese J10 or Fifth generation warplane like the US F-16s,or F-22s,,,,,,,,thats is really terrible for a Gaint Country like Nigeria with such Oil wealth,,,,, that means a Foreign Country can easily conquer Nigeria at any point in time,,,,because these days Wars are won by Air power and no longer by ground forces ,,,,Nigeria has to wake up,, our Chief of Air staff needs to purchase new warplanes from Israel or US and ground all those Olden days Alpha Jets they think can Withstand the latest warplanes like The J20s,F-16 or even MIG 27,,,,
That’ll happen when healthcare, education, energy, good transportation, safety, a good maintenance culture….and the rest of the long list become important.
Would you have liked to have seen unservicable F-16s littering the bases like other aircraft are doing? I don’t think so. Therefore, the task at hand is for our leaders to aim their crosshairs at these listed targets, fix them up, and a reasonable defense system won’t be long in coming.
Anonymous, I agree with you utterly. Michael has good ideas, but it seems he doesn’t know the type of nation he comes from