Aviation
Missing Malaysia Plane: Australia says plane not where ‘pings’ heard
SYDNEY – The search for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner suffered a further setback on Thursday after Australian officials said wreckage from the aircraft was not on the seabed in the area they had identified.
Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared from radar screens on March 8 shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.
Investigators say what little evidence they have to work with, including the loss of communications, suggests the Boeing BA.N 777 was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometers from its scheduled route.
The search was narrowed last month after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane’s black box recorders were heard near where analysis of satellite data put its last location, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) off the northwest coast of Australia.
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and, in its professional judgment, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370,” the agency in charge of the search said in a statement.
ATSB chief Martin Dolan told Reuters he expected the team to take two to three weeks to reassess and re-analyze the data, although he was “confident” that the final resting place of the aircraft was the Indian Ocean.
“We don’t know what those pings were,” Dolan said over the phone. “We are still analyzing those signals to understand them better.”
BREAKTHROUGH NO MORE
The discovery of the pings on April 5 and 8 was hailed as a significant breakthrough, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott expressing confidence that searchers knew where the plane wreckage was within a few kilometers.
However, a thorough scan of the 850 sq km area around the pings with an unmanned submarine failed to find any sign of wreckage. No debris linked to the plane has been picked up despite the most extensive and expensive search effort in aviation history.
“We concentrated the search in that area because the pings were the best information available at the time,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, who is also the transport minister, told the Australian parliament.
“We are still very confident that the resting place of the aircraft is in the southern (Indian) Ocean, and along the seventh ping line,” he added, referring to an arc identified by analysis of satellite communications data from UK company Inmarsat Plc ISA.L.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN quoted Michael Dean, the U.S. Navy’s deputy director of ocean engineering, and said authorities now almost universally believe the pings did not come from the plane’s onboard data or cockpit voice recorders.
“Our best theory at this point is that (the pings were) likely some sound produced by the ship … or within the electronics of the Towed Pinger Locator,” Dean told CNN.
The search zone had already been extended to a 60,000 sq km zone that is being surveyed by a Chinese vessel. It will then be searched by a commercial operator in a mission that is expected to start in August and take up to a year, at a cost of A$60 million ($55 million) or more.
Malaysia’s government and Inmarsat ISA.L released data this week used to determine the path of MH370, which families of the missing passengers hope could help verify the plane’s last location by opening up the data to analysis by a wider range of experts.
Australian authorities said the data supported the theory that the plane crashed after running out of fuel.
Along with surface searches, examination of satellite data and the undersea sonar searches, authorities have asked the United Nations’ Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) to check its system of hydrophones, designed to pick up possible nuclear tests, for any clues as to where the aircraft may have crashed.
“Both the CTBTO and institutions from our 183 Member States … have analyzed all relevant International Monitoring System data – infrasound, seismic and hydroacoustic – without finding any signal that could point to the fate of MH370,” a spokesman from CTBTO said in an emailed response.
– REUTERS
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced stringent measures against pilots and crew members who work for multiple airlines concurrently, a practice it describes as a serious safety violation.
In a letter dated November 6, 2024, Acting Director-General, Chris Nojomo warned that pilots operating for more than one airline without specific safety protocols pose significant risks to Nigeria’s aviation sector.
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The directive, titled “Prohibition of Ad-Hoc Flight Operators for Multiple Airlines,” noted that NCAA surveillance reports revealed multiple cases of unauthorized cross-airline work by flight crews, which the agency now plans to address.
According to the NCAA, simulator and proficiency checks endorsed on a pilot’s license are valid only for the specific airline and training program under which they were issued.
The letter stated, “With effect from the date of issuance of this directive, all operators and holders of pilot licenses are informed that this action will be treated as a violation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations.”
The NCAA’s new policy, effective November 11, 2024, warns that violators will face strict enforcement actions. Moving forward, simulator renewals will also be filed directly with individual operators, further tightening the agency’s oversight.
In a bold step to strengthen Akwa Ibom’s position in Nigeria’s aviation industry, Governor Umo Eno announced the addition of two new Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft to the fleet of the state-owned airline, Ibom Air, on Friday.
The two aircraft, registered as 5N-CED and 5N-CEE, mark a milestone in the state’s commitment to strategic investment, with the governor stressing that the acquisitions were fully funded by state resources without loans from financial institutions.
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At a welcoming ceremony attended by local officials and residents, Governor Eno emphasized his administration’s mission to drive revenue-generating ventures for Akwa Ibom rather than relying on debt.
He called the move a step toward breaking the cycle of government investments that only serve to pay off loans, vowing that the state’s funds would go towards projects that bring returns to the people.
The governor challenged Ibom Air to turn a profit by 2025, stating that the airline’s management should ensure routes in and out of Uyo remain dependable to prioritize the needs of Akwa Ibom travelers.
“As long as I remain governor, we will continue to use state funds for the benefit of all, not for private gain,” he said, noting that his administration aims to ensure that public investments deliver real value to the state.
Governor Eno also provided updates on several ambitious state projects, including an 18-story commercial complex underway in Lagos and an upcoming 4-star hotel in Abuja, both designed to generate revenue for Akwa Ibom.
Plans for an international market in Ikot Ekpene and the phased opening of a new terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport were also announced, with the airport terminal set for partial operation by December and full activation in early 2025.
Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, commended Eno’s financial management, highlighting that the administration has avoided seeking loans over the past 18 months despite launching significant development projects.
Ibom Air’s Chairman, Pastor Imoabasi Jacob, expressed appreciation for the state’s investment in the airline, which has seen its fleet grow to nine aircraft.
Jacob credited the governor’s support with enabling Ibom Air to boost flight capacity, meeting demand on popular routes such as Uyo-Lagos-Abuja.
Captain Mfon Udom, CEO of Ibom Air, stated that the expanded fleet will improve efficiency and allow the airline to scale up its operations in time for the Christmas travel season.
Udom also noted that the airline anticipates the delivery of nine additional Airbus planes, which will further strengthen Ibom Air’s market presence.
Traditional leaders, including HRM Edidem Ita Edet Okokon III of Okobo Local Government Area, lauded the governor’s leadership, pledging continued support from the traditional institutions.
Anie Essienette, Group Manager for Marketing and Communications at Ibom Air, noted that demand for the airline’s services has surged nationwide, with the new CRJ900 aircraft helping meet this increasing need while the airline awaits further fleet expansion.
Nigeria’s Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo is of the view that there’s no cause for alarm over the approval of a private airstrip for a religious organisation, which attracted the attention of the House of Representatives.
He took to his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X, on Friday morning to shed light on the subject, and explained that it could be a great source of revenue for Federal Government.
Keyamo asserted that the issue was raised by an honourable member at plenary, out of ignorance, but was “unanimously referred to the Aviation Committee to look into.”
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Keyamo expressed confidence that by the time his Ministry was done enlightening them, “they will be satisfied”.
He added that “the privates air strip owners pay the Federal Government handsomely for these services.”
Keyamo wrote, “I think this is not correct. The House of Reps. as a body did not call on the Minister to revoke the license of any private airstrip.
“I think what happened is that someone moved a motion in that regard and it was unanimously referred to the Aviation Committee to look into it.
“Whilst the intention of the Hon. Member who moved it is very patriotic, it was based on a complete lack of knowledge of the aviation sector.
“By the time we explain to them how private air strips work and the processes they undergo by our agencies before the final approval, they will be satisfied.
“The responsibility of the owners of private air strips is just to build the runway and terminal building. But after they build the control tower in particular, it is completely handed over to the Federal Government through NAMA (Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) which is in complete control of the entire airspace in Nigeria. An MOU is usually signed with NAMA in this regard before the airstrip is approved for operations.
“It is NAMA that provides the Air Traffic Controllers and Engineers in ALL AIRPORTS and AIRSTRIPS IN NIGERIA. And the privates air strip owners pay the Federal Government handsomely for these services.
“No object flies into Nigeria without the prior clearance by NAMA and without filing a clear flight plan, eg, where it is taking off from and where it intends to land.
“And I have recently directed that all aircraft coming into the country MUST first land at our international airports where they would be properly processed and checked before they make their local flights into whatever airport or airstrip they intend to go. So, it is COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY impossible for any private airstrip owner to just jump on an aircraft and fly in and out of the country through that facility. The Federal Government does not permit that. You will not be cleared for take off or landing without prior request and authorisation.
“I thank the Member for his patriotism, but I wish he contacted us first to explain to him before rushing to move such a motion.
“I attach herewith for public consumption the NAMA Act that gives exclusive control of the Nigerian airspace to the Federal Government through NAMA.”
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