Airline, Aviation Ministry, SSS debunk reports of bomber in Arik Air flight

OK just in.....
In separate statements from the ministry and Arik Air, they described the alleged incident as a rumour.
Information had gone round the aviation industry that a passenger later identified as Aminu Galadima, who was on board flight W3-812 operated by Arik Air from Maiduguri to Abuja with a Boeing 737-700 NG aircraft and registration number 5N MJE created a scare when he shouted Allah Akbar (God is great) shortly before the aircraft landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The behaviour of the passenger was said to have created panic among the crew and passengers on board, thinking a suicide bomber was about to bomb the aircraft along with the passengers on board.
The airline, in a statement signed by its media Manager, Ola Banji said it was all rumour without an iota of truth.
He said: “A passenger on board flight W3 812 from Maiduguri to Abuja caused a scare when he started shouting "ALLAH AKBAR" shortly before the aircraft landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The frightened passengers on board the flight became suspicious thinking the man was about to do something sinister.
“All the passengers on board the flight, including the man in question, had all gone through the normal security check at the Maiduguri International Airport and nothing incriminating was found on anyone.”
He said that another round of screening was carried out on all the passengers immediately after the aircraft land without finding anything incriminating on any of the passengers
“However, when the aircraft landed in Abuja, another security check was conducted on the passenger and nothing incriminating was found on him. A further security search was conducted on the operating aircraft, a Boeing 737-700 NG (Next Generation) and no trace of bomb or explosives were found. The aircraft went back to service immediately,” he said.
Similarly, a statement from the Ministry of Aviation and signed by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Joe Obi claimed the alleged bomb on the Arik flight was a hoax.
Mr Obi, who also confirmed that the aircraft landed safely at the Abuja airport and nothing dangerous was found on any passenger or on the aircraft was found s however, disclosed that the passenger had been handed over to security agency at the airport, for further interrogation.
He said: “The plane landed safely at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 1253 hrs and the suspect handed over to the SSS at about 1445 hrs where he is currently being interrogated.”

EMIRATES AIRLINE CRASH LANDS IN ZAMBIAN AIRPORT

Emirates airline crash landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia at about mid night on Sunday.
It is not clear what caused the accident but initial reports indicate that the plane had a tire burst and slipped into the bush. There are no reports of casualties so far but sources say the plane has been extensively damaged. Kenneth Kaunda Airport international recently experienced unprecedented power black-outs that endangered airlines and travelers.
Emirates Airlines is one of the most credible airlines in the world.
Emirates started operations in 1985 with a government approved $10 million in start-up capital. Emirates leased a new Boeing 737–300 and an Airbus 300, both from Pakistan International Airlines which were returned in 1987. Emirates became profitable within its first nine months. During its first year, it carried about 260,000 passengers and 10,000 tons of freight. The Emirates passenger aircraft fleet consists 173 aircraft as of September 2012 with an average age of 6.5 years. A further 202 aircraft are on order. They operate the largest fleet of wide body aircraft consisting of A330, A340, A380 and B777. They also hold a world record for operating the largest B777 fleet.
They have had 2 major incidences
On 9 April 2004, an Emirates Airbus A340-300 operating a flight from Johannesburg to Dubai sustained serious damage during takeoff.
- On 20 March 2009, Emirates Flight 407, an Airbus A340-500 flying from Melbourne to Dubai failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing.
They have had no fatalities so far giving them an impeccable safety record.

BOKO-HARAM ATTACKS ARIK AIR MID FLIGHT

The wave of terror attacks in Nigeria seem took a new turn on Tuesday as reports of a suicide bomb attempt to blow up an Arik Air plane 5N-MJE flying from Maiduguri to Abuja. A suspected member of the Boko Haram sect who had boarded in Maiduguri, Borno State got up mid-air and told all the passengers to say their last prayers. As he brought out the explosive device, he disclosed that his main targets were the white people in the aircraft. The explosive device failed to detonate before the plane landed in Abuja. Police bomb experts moved in and the suspected terrorist was arrested when the plane touched down in Abuja. How he passed security checks at the airport with the explosive device remains unknown. Personnel at the local wing of the airport are keeping numb over the issue as no one wants to be quoted.

Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah denied that there was an attempt to bomb any Arik aircraft. The Minister via her Twitter handle described it as a rumour as she tweeted “The alleged Breaking News about a bomb scare on an Arik flight is absolutely false. There is no iota of truth whatsoever in this rumour.” Five minutes later, she tweeted “The flying public should please go about their normal businesses as the airport/airspace is safe. Thank you.”

Street Journal however gathered that the bomber came in as the last passenger in First Class and he spoke English and Hausa fluently. He claimed they were three bombers that were supposed to enter the plane but two could not make it due to security. The bomber wired himself and used bandages to cover up. He gave his age as 27 and he identified three members of the Joint Task Force on board by name.

BIGGEST LIVERY OF THE YEAR: ALASAKA AIRLINES OTHERS FOR 50 737s

Computer mock up of what Alaska Airline’s Boeing 737 MAX will look like. Check out those winglets. Image from Boeing.


Alaska Airlines has confirmed an order for 50 new Boeing 737s, worth more than $5billion, at list prices. The order was for 20 737 MAX 8s, 17 MAX 9s and 13 737-900ER.
“This order positions us for growth and ensures that we’ll continue to operate the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft available for the foreseeable future. That means our customers will continue to enjoy a comfortable in-flight experience, low fares and excellent on-time performance,” Alaska Airlines President and CEO Brad Tilden said. “We value our longstanding relationship with Boeing and look forward to painting ‘Proudly All Boeing’ on the nose of our aircraft for many, many years into the future.”
The aircraft are slated to begin deliveries in 2015, with the first 737 MAX 8 expected to enter service in 2018, with the MAX 9 joining in 2019.

WE ARE DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE ZERO ACCIDENT RATES IN NIGERIA

 Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah has restated government's determination to achieve a zero rate of air accidents in the country. She made the pledge in a Keynote Address at the 6th D-8 Working Group on Civil Aviation and Directors General Meeting in Abuja, Thursday.

The Minister said "in spite of all the current effort being put in place to enhance air safety in the country, the Dana crash of Sunday June 03, 2012 underscores the fact that safety is a journey, not a destination".

''This accident happened notwithstanding all our past efforts to promote safety. This clearly underscores the fact that safety is a journey, not a destination. There is only a departure, there is never an arrival with safety. We must remain focused and continue in our determination to achieve the goal of zero accident'', the Minister declared.

The Minister informed her guests that has worked extremely hard to reposition the industry in the past six years through a comprehensive safety reform agenda which focused on the  recertification of the industry and resuscitation of aviation infrastructure. She explained that the new transformation agenda of the federal government of Nigeria in the past sixteen months is revolutionising ''our airport experience and creating an aerotropolis - a new airport of the future''.

She expressed the desire for a strong collaboration  with other D-8 countries to further raise the level of aviation activities in Nigeria in order to make her air transportation the true  engine of economic growth. She said it has become very obvious, especially with the developing countries that pooling of resources is the best option in achieving sustainable growth and development of the aviation industry especially in the areas of safety, security, training and capacity building and provision of air navigation facilities.

''There already exists cooperation and business affiliation between our airlines and other D-8 countries' maintenance providers in the provision of heavy maintenance for Nigerian registered aircraft. Other areas that Nigeria urgently requires cooperation and collaboration are training/capacity building, airport operations, airline financing and operations'', the Minister added.

She further solicited the cooperation and support of the other D-8 countries in Nigeria's candidature for the Presidency of the ICAO Council in the election billed for next year. She informed the delegates that Nigeria's candidature, in the person of Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu has already received the endorsement of the African Heads of State.

Director General of the NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren said the 6th meeting holding in Abuja is to bring together representatives of government and the  private sector to further deliberate and discuss contemporary issues in  aviation safety, security, air transportation, training, maintenance, airport infrastructure, airline financing and investments. He expressed the hope that ''these discussions would transform into a concrete D-8 cooperation and collaboration programme in civil aviation.

 D-8 member countries including Nigeria, Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia attended the meeting. Representative from Egypt and Pakistan are still being expected.

FAAN COMMENDS JONATHAN FOR REMOVAL OF CUSTOM DUTY ON AIRPLANE SPARE PARTS

For awhile now the Nigerian aviation industry has lamented over the high custom duties paid on aircraft parts to custom. Well seems like our prayers have been answered, as the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the removal of tariff on airplane parts. Aviation Parastatals have described the Presidents efforts as a welcome development that will further boost investment in the aviation industry.
The Communications and Public Affairs Manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati says the action of the federal government will further encourage investors and also reduce the financial burden on airline passengers.
Mr. Yakubu further added that the challenge of security at the nation’s airports is being addressed with the re-modeling exercise embarked upon by the ministry of aviation and the new terminals being constructed.
President Goodluck Jonathan had in his budget proposal speech announced the removal of levies and import duties on spare parts of aero planes and other related materials.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS LANDING ABORTED: DUE TO FAULTY RUNWAY LIGHTING AT HARARE

THE Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) and South African Airways
(SAA) held discussions on Tuesday after the airline aborted a landing at the
Harare International Airport citing poor runway lighting.

SAA, which runs two daily flights to Harare, pilots aborted landing on
Monday night.

The cancellation was met with an immediate response from the CAAZ.
"We didn’t want it to get to this and so we have written to SAA because we
want to improve the situation. These lights are adjustable," said David
Chawota, CEO of the CAAZ.

Chawota said SAA was the only carrier that had complained and withdrawn its
service.
SAA has airline has steadily filled the void left by Air Zimbabwe, which
grounded international flights over financial problems.

Air Zimbabwe has a November deadline to avoid a ban on its flights landing
abroad by satisfying international safety requirements.