The Chief Executive Officer of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Capt. Mukhtar Usman, on Friday disclosed that an accident investigation laboratory would soon be inaugurated in the country.
Usman made the announcement in Lagos while speaking with with aviation correspondents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
?He said that the laboratory built at a cost of 5.5 million dollars would be located in Abuja in line with international practices.
“The bureau is very close to launching its own Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) laboratory being installed by the CAE/ FlightScape Incorporation of Canada which will enable us to download both flight recorders promptly during investigation.
“Hitherto and now, these units are taken overseas for downloading, “ he said.
?Usman added that when completed, the laboratory would also handle cases of air, marine, road and rail accidents.
“We have highly qualified accident investigators who were trained in world class institutions to man the laboratory on inauguration, he said.
The CEO also said that the bureau had commenced training its personnel in investigating marine, road and rail-related accidents whenever they occurred.
“So AIB's planned collaboration with the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) in this respect is still ongoing,'' he said.
Usman said that 20 out of the bureau's 32 recommendations had so far been implemented by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Aviation.
He identified some of the recommendations as the establishment of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project and airlines installing ground tracking devices in their offices to monitor their flights while flying.
?Usman recalled that no passengers could be rescued in the ADC, Bellview and Beachcraft 1900 D air crashes because there were no radar system to track them.
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