Saturday, 17 November 2012
Exclusive Interview of Chinyere Kalu, Nigeria's First Female Pilot.
Captain Chinyere Kalu is a pilot and presently the Rector of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria. In this interview with a select group of journalists she bares her mind of her over 33 years flying career.
beach baron Tb9 parked at NCAT hanger
What motivated you to become a pilot?
It was a long time ago, about 33 years ago. The motivating factor is just an adventurous spirit, to venture out to see what is out there. I felt flying will be challenging and I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing at the time, I wanted something unique, something special, something challenging, something that I feel will be fulfilling. So that is what led me into flying. I also thought it will be a good opportunity to travel all over the world and get paid for it.
What was the reaction of your parent to that decision?
Surprisingly, there was no opposition. My aunt who was my mentor was the first person to travel to the United Kingdom from my village. She was a kind of a celebrity of her time. So when I mentioned the idea of flying, having been the first person in my village to go to UK, she did nursing, she was a trail blazer so to speak. And having been that exposed she just felt, this is your opportunity don’t even look back.
What about your father?
Well I didn’t grow up with my father. I had a lot of female influence around me when I was growing up. My mum had separated from my father long ago and I didn’t grow up under his influence.
How has the journey been so far?
It has not been easy for a number of reasons. I have suffered a lot; in fact I have been a threat to a number of people, chief executives prior to my time. They felt so threatened to the point that they felt if they leave me to excel, that probably I was going to take their job from them. So there was a lot of victimisation but the bottom line is that God who brought me from the dung hill has made it possible for me to be on this seat at this time and I just thank him. That is the conclusion of it all. It has not been easy, there was a period of time in my life I was sent packing for 14 months no salary, nothing. And that was not the first time nor was it the second but God has been faithful and that is the bottom line. It has not been easy because I didn’t have a lot of support, I didn’t have a lot of godfathers and I was there suffering but God has been faithful.
How have you been able to combine family with your career?
When I was bringing up my children my work wasn’t this busy and so I had time to bring up the children. And I have a wonderful husband; he is very supportive. Sometimes he will ask, when are you coming home and I will say not so soon or I am coming right back. He understands and he doesn’t mind if I don’t cook his meals, if I don’t come home early but he is a workaholic as well. So even if I get home at 12 midnight he is still very much awake and I will end up going to bed before him. So he works late but the truth of the matter is that he is very loving, very understanding and very supportive. If he had not been so supportive of me through it all I don’t know how I would have managed.
What is your most memorable flying experience?
One of the memorable moments of my life in flying was when I went on my first solo. First solo is the first time a student pilot will take off with the aircraft and land all by himself or herself without the instructions and the presence of a flight instructor. That I did I think on the 6th of June, 1978. I can remember it clearly. At that time the set of instructors that we had were semi-military and they could be so harsh and unfriendly. So my instructor said to me “well you go if you like kill yourself”. For me as a pilot and as an instructor I will never tell that to my students at this point. I will say I believe in you, all you need to do is to show me that you can go up and come down on your own. Go ahead I am praying for you and I know you will succeed.
I did go up and when I went up instead of being afraid, rigid and timid, I felt so relaxed. I could remember I was singing, flying, just praising God and thanking God. I was not frigid, I was just there doing my own thing.
The other incident I had was on 6th of October 2006 when I had a plane crash. We had gone up with some two girls, twin sisters with another boy on a flight. At that time I think the exercise they were to do was climbing. It hasn’t been long they started flying when it happened. So we did the normal checks, all the parameters were okay, everything was working fine and then we took off. And because I had taught them some of the exercises so they were doing it themselves and then it got to a point and one of the student said Ma, it seems as if our aircraft is losing power. So I checked and looked at the parameters and they were okay but from the sound of the engine and the engine indicator (thermometer RPM indicator), I could see that actually we were losing power.
So when that happened I took over control from her, obviously I should take over. I am the pilot in command and did all the other checks to see if we didn’t do something right or put something wrongly. I did all that and the power was not being sustained, so I realised that this is for real. So I was composed, I was calm then I decided that we should head towards the air field that is coming back to our airport here. I started coming back to the field and I was able to make it to the field. That was an incident some years back and when we landed we realised that water had entered the engine. We drained and saw half bottle of water from the engine, so it was the water that entered the engine that was making the aircraft to rough run and not to perform well.
When that was happening, the twin sisters asked, Ma does it mean this is it? I said well it could be but pray, call on your God. And the faithful God remain faithful to us and nothing happened. When we landed I told them to rush out immediately, we all rushed out because with that impact there could be fire. When this was happening I had called the tower to give them our situation report and what was happening per time, so tower was busy calling us but we had rushed out for safety. When we waited for a while and noticed there was no fire, we came back to answer tower and told them our exact location, eventually they came for us.
In view of your experiences, will you advise more girls to take to flying?
Well looking at your face I could conclude that in fact once you allow your daughter to toe this line she will become a heroine. Yes, nobody is going to victimise her, she will be greatly encouraged. I have taken all the beating and bashing and all that so no other woman flight instructor will go through. In fact, at a point, I was retrenched because I was expecting my first baby. They said as a pilot you cannot fly but we went over that and so many other gory experiences. But I thank God I am still here after 33 years.
Recently I went to Abuja for a programme by the University of Science and Engineering in Abuja, I was invited to give motivational talks to young girls and I was just encouraging them. I am ageing and I need replacement, I need younger people to come and replace me. They should come because I think women make better flight instructors. They are patient, they will teach, advice, encourage.
How many students do you have?
We have quite a number. We have a set of students in Minna, we have a campus there that the Niger State government collaborated with us to open to conduct ground instructions for flight training. So we have 28 (SP 28), in SP26 we have about 17 students, in SP27 we have about 20 students and then we have some students in SP25 and by January we will take in another set of students. So you can say we have about 70 flying students.
How many of them are women?
I really don’t know. I know in Minna we have about three girls for other ones we have girls in the class, maybe a total of 10 or there about.
What is the cost of training a pilot?
The cost is N7.5 million for the whole period and that is inclusive of feeding and accommodation and in reality, that is below the cost price because when you talk of international college of aviation in Ilorin, they charge N10 million excluding feeding and accommodation and then the fuel they use are produced locally compared to ours that we buy from outside the country and we pay about N125, 000 per drum of fuel.
One of your students (Governor Suntai of Taraba State) recently had a plane crash.
(Cuts in) I wouldn’t want to answer that. I will want to say that we have had students like Capt. Adoka Rein, he was my own personal student and he is flying and is still flying. He was MD NAMA and now he is flying with Arik Air and a host of them. Yes, we train students, it is the same standard we are maintaining but anything can happen any time, it is not because of the school. We maintain our standard, NCAA is a regulatory body that checks our standard, so we maintain very high standard and Nigerian pilots trained in this college are some of the best in the world.
How often do you fly?
Well, in the past it wasn’t as often but now much more regularly. As I go to Abuja for one programme or the other, I seize the opportunity to fly so that I remain current.
You don’t go to Abuja by road?
I do sometimes but when I am pressed for time or I have a lot to do, I fly.
SOUTH SUDAN: Kenyan Fokker 50 crash lands in Aweil; no casualties.
News wires are reported the crash landing of a Kenyan
Skyward International Fokker 50 (MSN: 20175 | 5Y-CAN) in Aweil, the
capital of Northern Bhar al Ghazal state, South Sudan. The flight was
carrying members of the International Office
of Migration (IOM) returning from a conference in Khartoum, Sudan. Of the 57 passengers onboard, some were said to have sustained injuries.
“The airstrip … is safe for landing, but a plane is a metal and you don’t know what can happen,” Mr Madut, the deputy governor Northern Bhar al Ghazal state told a local radio station. “The pilot did a good job; he managed to save the lives of 57 people who were on board, coming from Sudan.”Pictures taken by eyewitnesses at the scene showed the aircraft lying flat on the ground.One of the wheels was twisted to point into the sky and a broken off trunk lay by the side of the wreckage on dry grass. A passenger who disembarked unhurt from the plane said he was alerted to the sound of grumbling. And in a short while, he said, the aircraft was lying in the bush. Big Ups to the Fokker Pilot who saved all those lives (applauding)
Friday, 16 November 2012
FG Plans National Carrier With 30 New Aircrafts.
We are aware the Federal Government plans to float a new national carrier with at least 30 brand new aircraft, but i doubt we can see the reality of that this year.
The Director of Operations, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) Mr. Henry Omeogu, in a statement while speaking with newsmen during his visit to the Port Harcourt International Airport. Omeogu explained that "though the new national carrier would be private sector-driven, fairly used or old aircraft would not be allowed to be among the fleet of its airplanes." He said the move was part of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan for the aviation sector, adding that the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, was determined to turn around the industry. Explaining that the Federal Government was interested in raising the standard in the aviation sector to a world-class level, Omeogu disclosed that the government had begun the renovation of 11 airports across the country. “We are going to have about 30 brand new aircraft and they (aircraft) will be our national carrier. The effort will be private-sector driven. We will insist that others who would want to be part this should come with brand new aircraft,”
The FAAN director gave an assurance that by 2014, the Federal Government would have achieved nearly 100 per cent of its plans to transform the aviation sector. There has been improved security within and around airports across the country which was part of the arrangement for a new aviation industry, over 50 policemen had already been moved from Abuja to the Port Harcourt International Airport. “The President has signed performance contracts with all the sectors, and at the end of the day, any person that cannot key into the new vision of the Federal Government will naturally leave the system,” Omeogu explained that the ongoing transformation of the country’s aviation sector would provide many employment opportunities for the citizens as the materials needed for the renovation of some of the airports in the country were available, while the contractors had been paid to avoid any delay in the completion of the projects.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Flight Movie: Official Trailer 2012
Personally I'm a Denzel Washington fan. And to see him wear my kind off uniform in my kind off office just sends my adrenaline haywire. The movie Flight currently showing in cinemas abroad, but yet to be in the Nigerian cinemas. Is a story of a captains remarkable flying. Its currently number 3 in the box office with making $14.5Million in its 1st weekend and a gross earning of about $45Million in 2weeks
NAMA upgrades to automated flight plans.
Engr Nnamdi Udoh, the Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA), says Nigeria will upgrade from the analogue method of preparing flight plans to automated system on Thursday.(which is today)
He said: ``From Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, Nigeria will join the rest of the global aviation community in this development, as it has become mandatory for all contracting states of ICAO to do so.’’
Udoh said that the new flight plan would afford air navigation service providers the opportunity to make maximum use of aircraft capabilities.
He listed other benefits of the new flight plan to include:-
- ability of the aircraft to conduct flights more closely to their preferred trajectories and facilitate the
utilisation of advanced technologies, thereby increasing efficiency.
- optimised demand and capacity balancing through efficient exchange of information.
- enhance the airlines’ use of modern capabilities on board the aircraft, as well as enhance search and
rescue operations when the need arises.
The forum was attended by airline operators, pilots, air traffic controllers, regulators and service providers. We are moving up in the world of aviation. kudos!
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Hello Everyone!!! Check out This Helicopter
The worlds first hotel Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience.
It is a helicopter hotel! It has 18 rooms with five-star facilities!
I dey madt! Just as much as i would love to fly everything i would never fly that, let alone sleep there. joooor o. It doesn't even look aerodynamically possible.
NCAA directs Nigerian Domestic airlines to install latest safety device within six months
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in
Lagos yesterday finally issued the airlines operating in the country six months
to install Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) in
their aircraft or face sanctions.
This
directive was announced by the Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold
Demuren after presenting his paper at the ongoing Airbus Industry Workshop
Training for indigenous airline operators.
He said that so far, all the country’s airline operators
had indicated their interested in fixing the equipment onto their
airplanes and disclosed that it cost NCAA about $30,000 (N4.8 Million) to acquire and
install the equipment in its headquarters in Lagos.
Demuren
said it would cost the airline more, but they could pay in installments
to the manufacturer of the equipment after the initial payment of about
$60, 000 (N9.5 Million) on each aircraft and then the airlines can make yearly
payment till they finish paying. It
is a fraction of the money they will use to buy an airplane.Well if you think this is expensive, go and try accident. lol!
“We are giving them six months to install the gadgets in their
airplanes. We need to give them some time. It is not a thing you can do
in one day. After that, no aeroplane would operate in the public
category carrying passengers for hire and reward will be allowed again
in the country. I think it is good to promote safety in the industry,”
Any
snag would be detected automatically. Every one of them wants it. It is the
latest in the world. There have been complaints that pilots don’t
record snags in their logbooks, but this automatically records
everything. You can’t hide or change it. Everyone would have it; the
airline and even the NCAA. We will know the problem and we would be able
to fix it.
On
the workshop, Demuren commended the aircraft manufacturer for
conducting the training for Nigerian airline operators, saying that this
would further boost safety in the Nigerian aviation industry.
Also
speaking on the issue, Airbus International Safety Programme Director,
Mr. Marc Ballion said that the AFIRS would automatically be fixed on all
its aircraft from 2015.
He
said with this installation, speculations arising from probable causes
of aircraft accident would be over, stressing that before the airline
could come out with the latest technology; it cost two years of
intensive research.
He
said that before the latest discovery, the company was improving in its
safety record, maintaining that it would further boost safety in the
sector.
“Again,
we have to be predictive and pro-active in our approach to safety of
airplanes and passengers in the sector. We don’t have to wait for an
accident to occur before we take step. This device reveals all the
components of aircraft and monitors the movement of aircraft,” Hmmmm...
Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha,
issued the summon at a meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry
of Aviation.
Onyejeocha said the invitation became necessary because of the controversy surrounding the alleged discrimination against the airlines. The airlines summoned include, Turkish Airline, Ethiopia Airline, Emirates Airline and Asky Airline.
Onyejeocha said the invitation became necessary because of the controversy surrounding the alleged discrimination against the airlines. The airlines summoned include, Turkish Airline, Ethiopia Airline, Emirates Airline and Asky Airline.
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