US aviation regulator to audit NCAA

 The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States will this month carry out an audit of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

According to the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, the one-week audit, which begins on August 21, will be to re-validate the country’s Category One safety rating, using the current International Civil Aviation assessment procedure of checklist, a detailed questionnaire and ICAO guidance material.

He said the areas to be covered by the audit would include the NCAA’s compliance with sections of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices as contained in Annexes 1, 6 and 8.

Other areas, he said, were the states’ aviation law, regulations and oversight capacity in eight critical elements of legislation, regulations, organisation, technical staff quality and training, technical guidance tools, licensing and certification approval, continuous surveillance and resolution of safety concerns.

Adurogboye said, “The last time the FAA visited Nigeria was in 2014 to carry out a similar exercise to ascertain the level of compliance of the NCAA and Nigeria with prescribed standards and recommended practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

“The objective of the audit will include assessment and level of compliance of Nigeria with international regulations as they affect general aviation policy, procedure, aircraft maintenance organisation and flight operations. We haven’t failed before and we can’t fail now. We will do Nigeria proud.”