NSIB Investigates Jet's Black Box Overwritten in Asaba Landing

• The flight data recorder of a private jet operated by VMO Aero was overwritten before investigators could access it.
• The overwrite of critical flight data raises concerns about potential evidence tampering and its implications for aviation safety investigations in Nigeria.
• The NSIB is facing significant financial challenges, including reduced funding proposed by the NCAA.

The rule allows them to have a 26-hour electric recorder but we discover that it only recorded for about two hour of low quality, from when the aircraft took off from Lagos, landed in Asaba and went back they have overwritten everything that happened within that time.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has revealed that the flight data recorder of a private jet operated by VMO Aero was overwritten before investigators could access it. This incident occurred on July 10, when the Bombardier Challenger 601 business jet landed on a highway in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, instead of the airport runway. The overwrite of critical flight data raises concerns about potential evidence tampering and its implications for aviation safety investigations in Nigeria.

The NSIB Director-General, Alex Badeh, explained that the aircraft was flown back to Lagos without clearance from Air Traffic Control, resulting in the overwriting of crucial information stored in the recorder. Flight recorders use continuous circular memory systems, meaning that once the storage capacity is reached, new data replaces the oldest information. In this case, the return flight meant that vital details about the Asaba incident were no longer available.

The NSIB boss emphasized that investigators are still working to establish exactly what happened and cautioned against immediately concluding that the operators deliberately destroyed evidence.

The Nigerian aviation sector is governed by strict regulations aimed at ensuring safety. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) issues Letters of Intent (LOI) to airlines, reminding them to preserve critical flight data. The NSIB has also conducted workshops with operators to emphasize the importance of preserving evidence.

However, despite these efforts, concerns remain about a culture among some pilots that may lead to withholding or altering information due to fears of job loss. Badeh attributed this problem to a lack of trust between flight crews and safety investigators.

The NSIB boss stressed that investigators do not recommend punitive sanctions for admitting mistakes and constantly assure crew members that nobody should be penalized for telling the truth.

Beyond the Asaba incident, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau is facing significant financial challenges. The agency is opposing a proposal being considered by the National Assembly at a House of Representatives public hearing to reduce the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority's (NCAA) funding, which the NSIB is concerned would impact its own operations.

The NSIB Director-General, Alex Badeh, expressed concerns about the potential impact of reduced funding on the agency's ability to conduct thorough investigations and ensure aviation safety in Nigeria.

The overwrite of the black box raises concerns about potential evidence tampering and the need for airlines to preserve critical flight data, which may have implications for aviation safety investigations in Nigeria.

Source: Original reporting via BusinessDay