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Tag: Mr. Matthew Lawrence Pwajok

  • NAMA MD Tasks Airlines on Incident Reporting

    NAMA MD Tasks Airlines on Incident Reporting

    …inducted into the AFARN Hall of Fame

    The Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr. Matthew Lawrence Pwajok has urged pilots, air traffic controllers, airlines, ground handlers, passengers and other stakeholders in the aviation industry to continue to report aviation incidents to the safety authorities as this would further enhance the relative safety in the industry and also boost confidence in air travel.

    Pwajok who was an award recipient at the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) safety summit and awards which held in Lagos at the weekend contended that investing in sensitization of key stakeholders in the area of safety reporting is as important as investing in safety-critical equipment and manpower training, stressing that incident reports were a critical and strategic aspect of the aviation safety chain, because “if you don’t report incidents we can’t control them, if we don’t have reports we cannot provide the required risk analysis and mitigations.”

    He commended pilots “for being very faithful in incident reporting, even to the detriment of the airlines, as this could sometimes cause slight flight delays while awaiting a review or investigation of the incident by NCAA before releasing the aircraft back for operations. NCAA for investigation, and when the reported event or defect is mitigated, the aircraft is released back to service. For instance, we had an occurrence at Escravos yesterday that was reported to the control tower by the pilot, and consequently, NAMA informed AIB and NCAA, and after the required mitigations were effected, the aircraft was released back to service. It is as prompt as that! These are the kind of 24/7 collaboration, cooperation, and coordination that have largely enhanced safety in the sector.”

    The NAMA boss appreciated stakeholders in the industry for the enhanced safety in the sector which he attributed to the effective synergy amongst stakeholders and strategic efforts by service providers. The NAMA MD opined that the relative safety enjoyed in the sector over the last 10 years was not by chance or luck but as a result of significant investments both in infrastructural deployment and human capital development to enhance safety in the Nigerian airspace, thereby ensuring that major air disasters such as those witnessed between 2005 and 2006 were a thing of the past.

    According to him, “one of the first things the agency did under the Obasanjo government was the implementation of Safe Tower project and this began with the automation of the control tower at Abuja airport in 2007. In 2008 we completed that of Lagos and Port Harcourt and subsequently Kano. This project provided the main mitigation to what was considered the primary cause of most of these air disasters. The project provided NAMA with automated air traffic management systems, as well as meteorological sensors along the runways, and provided ATC with real-time weather information from the runways, availing us with wind direction, wind speed, low-level wind shear alerting systems, cloud altitudes, cloud densities, cloud direction of movement, air temperature, air pressure, prevailing weather conditions, etc. Thus, basically, every element of weather is displayed at the control tower at the four major airports, so pilots are given adequate information on approaching weather, prevailing weather, or forecasted weather conditions.”

    “We went further to deploy the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) in 2010. We could now track aircraft over the entire airspace of Nigeria and beyond, unlike before when air traffic controllers had to manually depend on pilot reports to control and ensure safety of flights, separation of aircraft from each other, and sequence them for arrival or for takeoff. The radar system has the capacity to detect conflicts, aircraft crossing each other, with inbuilt ground safety nets such as short-term conflict alert, and medium-term conflict detection with respect to aircraft crossing at the same level or in close proximity either vertically or laterally, the radar system will alert ATC. The radar system is also equipped with minimum safe altitude warning, thus if you are very low to the terrain it will alert us. The system also has a danger area infringement warning to alert aircraft away from restricted, prohibited or dangerous areas with known or reported activities hazardous to air safety. These are all ground safety nets, about ten of them that are in-built in the radar system to give the air traffic controller adequate information, and to a large extent, that has enhanced safety in our airspace.”

    Pwajok further stated that the drive towards enhancing air safety is attributable to global, regional and national initiatives following the development of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan, Global Aviation Safety Plan in 2012. At the regional level, the ministers responsible for civil aviation in Africa met in Abuja, Nigeria following the ranking of Africa as the continent with the least volume of flight operations, but with the highest fatal accidents rate in the world. “Thus on 20th July 2012, we had the ministerial declaration in Abuja: what the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) refers to as the Abuja Safety Targets. Ministers responsible for aviation met in Abuja, reviewed the safety level in Africa and agreed that over 60% of the fatal accidents were caused by (i) loss of control in flight (ii) controlled flight into terrain, and (iii) runway incursion, excursion and confusion. In addressing these, the Ministerial Conference and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) came up with a 16-point agenda out of that declaration: to reduce loss of controlled flight into the terrain by 50%; reduce runway incursion and excursion by 50%; reduce loss of control in flight by 50%, implement state safety programme by CAAs and also ensure effective implementation of oversight, Pwajok said.”

    He noted that the above strategies were domesticated at national levels, while strategic and concerted efforts were made towards implementation and enhancement of air safety through investment in safety critical infrastructure, training, establishment of safety management system and quality management system, as well as development of safety plans, safety policies, safety objectives, safety key performance indicators, and acceptable level of safety performance. He also lauded the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika for facilitating the huge investment in development of air navigation services in line with the aviation roadmap, as well championing recent collaborative efforts by aviation agencies, airlines and other stakeholders in a bid to enhance safety in the nation’s airspace.

    This year’s AFARN summit with the theme- Aviation Safety in a Global Distressed Economy: The Place of Nigeria, also had in attendance the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Engr. Akin Olateru and the representative of DG, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who were also inducted into the AFARN Hall of Fame alongside Pwajok.

  • NATCA solicits Confirmation of Pwajok, inducted Newly rated ATCOs

    The Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA) has entreated the Honourable Minster of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika to accelerate the confirmation of the Actg. Managing Director of NAMA, Mr. Matthew Lawrence Pwajok as the substantive Managing Director/Chief executive of the agency.

    Speaking during his welcome address at the association’s 51st annual general meeting/conference which held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the President of NATCA, Abayomi Agoro said his association was impressed by the performance of the new management team in NAMA led by Pwajok and put in place by Sirika, stressing that “we speak for majority of our members in soliciting that the Honourable Minister of Aviation graciously extend his usual Midas touch in seeking the confirmation of Mr Matthew Lawrence Pwajok as the substantive Managing Director/Chief Executive of NAMA.”

    Agoro who lauded the new management team under Pwajok for the progress being made in the upgrade of navigational infrastructure across the country noted that “the Air Traffic Controller remained the centerpiece in the changes and improvements being made in NAMA with the introduction of new procedures and even the deployment of newer solutions.”

    Earlier in his remarks, the Actg. Managing Director, Mr Matthew Lawrence Pwajok said as part of management’s response to the “unacceptable increase in mortality rate among Air Traffic Controllers” and as a measure to “arrest incidences of fatal health issues among controllers,” the agency recently implemented the health insurance scheme for workers just as it was committed to increasing the medical allowances of NATCA members.

    Mr Pwajok who was represented by the Actg. Director of Operations, Mr Haske Jibrin revealed that despite the challenging fiscal environment, management had conducted more professional, operational and specialized trainings for controllers lately. He recalled that 16 Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) were trained in Basic Procedure Design and Airspace Planning in Cairo, Egypt in the first quarter of 2022, just as 12 ATCOs were also trained in Nairobi, Kenya in Search and Rescue Mission Operation at about the same time, and another 8 ATCOs who were in Czech Republic for the Multilateration (MLAT) operational training much earlier in the year (2022). The NAMA boss said all these trainings were part of the requirements for the development of capacity for the production of maps and charts including Visual Flight Rules (VFR) charts, in an effort to achieve a seamless conduct of the ICAO Universal Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).

    The Actg. MD also noted that as part of the agency’s strategic plan to ensure total voice and data communication coverage for the oceanic and remote continental parts of the Nigerian airspace, as well as sequential management of arrival and departure of air traffic at terminal phase of flight, NAMA had trained 16 ATCOs in the Phase II of Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) in Paris, France while an additional 12  are to undergo Search and Rescue Mission Coordinators’ Training course in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Meanwhile, a total of 9 newly rated and licensed Air Traffic Controllers have been inducted by NATCA as full-fledged members of the association. They include 5 NAMA staff, 3 Army officers (to provide air traffic services at the air wing of the Nigerian Army) and 1 Air Force officer. The induction was sequel to the Basic Aerodrome and Approach training as well as flying experience at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT) Zaria. They also underwent on-the-job (OJT) for 6 months at major airports after which they sat for Aerodrome and Approach rating examination conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and were all successful.

    Administering the induction, the President of NATCA, Abayomi Agoro charged them to be of good conduct as “ambassadors of our reputable association,” stressing that NATCA as an umbrella body of Air Traffic Controllers in Nigeria was poised to see to the welfare and wellbeing of members.