First Nation Airways has been asked to pay the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) about N33.5million as fine for the breach of
Nigeria’s civil aviation law by one if its pilot.
It was discovered that the Pilot-in-Command (PIC), of the airlines
Airbus A319 with registration mark 5N-FNE, was not in possession of a
current or valid medical certificate.
However, efforts by the airline to appeal in disagreement with the
reported violations and sanctions, following a letter of sanction
written to its management on January 23, 2017, proved abortive as
judgment by a five man panel sitting in Lagos on Sunday, upheld the
civil sanction imposed on the airline and the erring pilot by the NCAA.
The panel’s final report states that; “The pilot-in-command operated
with expired license from November 2 – 8, 2016 and there are all
indications that the airline knew the PIC did not have a valid license,”
“The PIC’s argument that he had a valid license when he operated the
flights is incorrect, as he had no valid medical certificate. And this
is a very serious safety issue therefore, the moderate sanctions applied
by the NCAA were reasonable under the circumstances.”
The Pilot in Command, according to the Nigeria Civil Aviation
Regulations NCARs had 14 days to apply before the expiration of the
license, but he did not apply until November 3, 2016, after its
expiration.
The panel also noted that the pilot did not do the Cardiac Risk
Assessment (CRA) test on time. The NCAA mandated him, through the
authorized Aviation Medical Examiner (AAME), to do the test at 62,
however, he did the test at a later date as an invoice was issued to him
by NCAA on November 3, 2016.
The five-man appeal panel consisted three airline operators, a
private legal expert and NCAA officials as observers, while First Nation
Airways was represented by four lawyers, its pilot and three management
staff.
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