Following the crash of a Sikorsky SK76 helicopter with registration 5NBQG and operated by East Wind Aviation near Bonny Finima in the Atlantic Ocean in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, the umbrella body of pilots in Nigeria has called on the federal government to upgrade emergence response and rescue infrastructure in the country’s aviation sector.
The body also demanded that its members be enlisted among investigating panels as it is obtained in other parts of the globe.
The National President of National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Engr. Abednego Galadima made the call at a one symposium organised by NAAPE with the theme “The Imperative of Unionization in a Struggling Economy” in Abuja.
The ill-fated aircraft was en-route from Port Harcourt Military Base (DNPM) to the NUIMANTAN oil rig when it ditched into the waters with eight souls on board that are all now confirmed as fatalities, according to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
Speaking while delivering his opening remarks at the event, the NAAPE President affirmed that though the union was not attempting to pre-empt the report of the investigating panel into the cause of the crash, but that from what they gathered, infrastructure for emergency response and rescue were not optimal.
