Aviation
Miss Malaysia plane: Authorities open search to Private Contractors
SYDNEY — Authorities will open up the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to private contractors next week, with the launch of a public tender that could take two months to complete, a person familiar with the search said.
Malaysian, Chinese and Australian authorities are seeking a single contractor to coordinate an expanded undersea search of a remote patch of the Indian Ocean covering 60,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles). The successful bidder will be responsible for bringing together ships, crew and technology to look for the missing jetliner, the person said.
The tender documents will outline basic information, including the area to be explored, the money available and the expected time frame for the search. However, private contractors will be free to devise their own strategies to find the plane for the money made available, the person said.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in April that the expanded underwater search would cost around 60 million Australian dollars (US$55 million). However, the person said this estimate includes the cost of mapping the sea floor, meaning the budget available to a private contractor to carry out the subsea search would be significantly less.
Separately, authorities are close to signing up a privately-owned deep sea survey vessel to help produce bathymetric maps of the ocean floor approximately 1,000 miles northwest of the Western Australia capital Perth where they believe the plane crashed. This new ship would work with the Chinese survey vessel Zhu Kezhen, which has already begun mapping the area.
The survey is likely to take 2-3 months to complete, the person said. Its results will enable towed sonar equipment to be deployed without the risk of it banging into undersea ridges and mountains.
The Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield is due to give up the search on Wednesday, having scoured a narrow area close to where it detected electronic signals on four occasions in early April. Authorities believed those transmissions were consistent with locator beacons on an aircraft’s black box flight recorders, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the hunt for Flight 370, which went missing en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 with 239 people on board.
Commander James Lybrand, who captained the Ocean Shield through April, this month told The Wall Street Journal that the Bluefin-21 submersible drone used in the search so far had faced difficulty navigating crevasses up to 70 meter deep and depths that had plunged to more than 5,000 meters.
The introduction of a private contractor aims to overcome these obstacles with new equipment. Companies in the marine salvage and oil and gas sectors could take part in the search, along with nonprofit research organizations.
Seattle-based salvage group Williamson & Associates, which together with professional wreck hunter David Mearns, helped discover the sunken destroyer HMAS Sydney in 2008—a breakthrough met with jubilation in Australia where the ship and its 645 passengers were missing for 67 years. Art Wright, the company’s operations manager, said private contractors would likely want to reanalyze the ping signals picked up by searchers in early April to double check that they coincided with black box locator beacons.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Phoenix International Holdings Inc. are potential candidates after helping on the deep sea recovery of the black boxes and debris from Air France Flight 447 which crashed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 2009. Other groups in the running to be involved in the search could include Oceaneering International Inc., Dutch company Fugro NV, University of Southampton in the U.K, Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California and the University of Hawaii, people familiar with the matter said.
Already searchers suspect that two ping transmissions detected by the Ocean Shield on April 8 might not be man-made, while some other signals picked up by sonar buoys and by U.K. naval vessel HMS Echo have since been shown to come from surface craft.
A search using a submersible sonar device towed behind a boat would likely cost between US$70,000-US$80,000 a day for each ship used, including crew, equipment, fuel and vessel charter fees, according to Mr. Wright.
– WALLSTREET JOURNAL
An Abuja-Accra flight experienced technical difficulties mid-air on Friday, forcing it to return to Abuja, shortly after departure.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Board (NSIB) made the disclosure in a statement, adding that it has launched investigation into what it described as a serious accident.
Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji stated that preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft experienced an engine number two indication issue.
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It was gathered that the aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL which was operating a flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (DNAA), to Kotoka International Airport, Accra (DGAA).
She explained that four persons were onboard when the incident occurred. The crew immediately requested for a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.
Oladeji added that the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Abuja Airport at 18:16 UTC.
There were no injuries reported, and all individuals on board are safe.
Nigeria has acquired 12 pre-owned Alpha Jets from the French Air Force as part of efforts to enhance the operational capacity of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).
The deal, facilitated through SOFEMA, a French military and aeronautics company, was announced by Olusegun Dada, Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on via X on Thursday.
He said, “All the 12 aircraft are ready for shipping.”
The Alpha Jet, a product of Franco-German collaboration, is a versatile military aircraft designed for light attack and advanced training missions.
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Equipped to carry bombs, rockets, and missiles, the aircraft also features a gun pod for close air support.
The NAF already operates 11 Alpha Jets, but this latest procurement signals a significant boost to its fleet.
Dada also confirmed that the Air Force is expecting 24 M-346FA light attack aircraft, ordered during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The first batch of these Italian-made aircraft is expected to arrive early next year.
Air Chief Marshal Hasan Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff, described the acquisitions as a testament to President Tinubu’s commitment to bolstering the armed forces.
“This renewal of our aircraft fleet reflects the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of Nigerians,” Abubakar said.
The announcement comes on the heels of President Tinubu’s three-day state visit to France, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The visit, which took place from November 27 to November 30, highlighted deepening ties between the two nations.
To ensure the sustainability of its expanding fleet, the Air Force has proposed establishing a local maintenance hub.
Speaking in October, Abubakar noted that six units of the M-346FA aircraft were already in production, with the initial batch of three expected to be delivered in early 2025. The full fleet is projected to arrive by 2026.
“These developments underscore the importance of creating a domestic support system for the long-term upkeep of our aircraft,” Abubakar added.
As the holiday season draws near, Aero Contractors has introduced a minimum ticket price of N80,000 for all local flights.
The move, which will last until January 2024, aims to ease the financial burden on Nigerians amid the high cost of living.
Ado Sanusi, Managing Director of Aero Contractors, made the announcement on Tuesday during a press briefing, describing the fare reduction as a gesture to help Nigerians celebrate Christmas and the New Year without the stress of steep ticket prices.
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Sanusi said, “We understand the economic hardship Nigerians are facing, especially with high ticket prices, and we know the holiday season is nearby.
“In the spirit of Christmas, Aero Contractors has introduced what we call pocket-friendly Christmas prices. These fares, starting at N80,000, will apply to all our destinations, allowing Nigerians to travel without excessive costs.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, an economy class ticket from Lagos to Abuja was priced at N99,643, while business class tickets were being sold for N189,167.
Sanusi further explained that the initiative was designed to make it easier for families to reunite during the holidays.
“This is a way for us, as an organization with a long history of serving Nigerians, to give back to our loyal customers. We want to make it possible for families to meet their loved ones during this festive season without worrying about exorbitant travel costs,” he added.
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