The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday said that Max Air’s Boeing 737-300 aircraft failed to take off from the Yola Airport in Adamawa State on July 7 because its main tank was filled with water.
NCAA, at a meeting with aviation stakeholders in Abuja, said the aircraft would have dropped like a “stone” from the air if it had taken off.
“Imagine what would have happened if the aircraft detected the water in the air, the two engines would have shut down and the aircraft would have dropped from the air like a stone,” said the regulator’s Director of Airworthiness Standards of NCAA, Gbalohan Abalan.
The NCAA-stakeholders meeting was held just as the House of Representatives resolved at its plenary to probe the increasing cases of aviation fuel contamination and poor adherence to standards by players in the Aviation sector of the transport industry.
NCAA is also set to constitute a committee to ensure that aviation fuel quality is of a high standard.
At the meeting with stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Abalan listed three cases of fuel contamination that had been recorded in the sector within four months in Lagos, Abuja and Abuja.
He said: “On the 17th of July 2023, an incident of multiple failure water test upon refuelling a domestic airline occurred in Lagos.
“On 7th of July 2023, another incident of APU shutdown due to heavy water contamination occurred in Yola. Similarly, on the 28th of April 2023, an incident of APU shutdown during engine start due to fuel contamination in Abuja.
“On 30th of April 2023, an incident of inflight engine failure following fuel filter bypass occurred in Abuja.”
The NCAA director said no accident was recorded in all the cases.
Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, who presided over the meeting attended also by domestic/international operators and Aviation fuel suppliers, said the regulator decided to probe the Max Air incident to prevent reoccurrences of such safety breaches.
Nuhu added that the issue of fuel contamination was beyond the purview of the aviation ecosystem, hence the extension of an invite to NMDPRA.
“The fuel contamination is outside the purview of the aviation ecosystem which is why we have engaged the regulator of the downstream sector.
“We have been in consultation with NMDPRA because they certify all the oil companies in Nigeria,” he said.
Nuhu explained that the collaboration had become imperative because of the lack of collaboration between NCAA, NMDPRA, and FAAN on fuel quality monitoring.
Nuhu added that the NCAA, FAAN, NMDPRA, NSIB, airliners, pilots, fuel deport operators, aircraft maintenance officers and other stakeholders would be part of a committee that would ensure that aviation fuel quality was constant.
“Facets of the aviation fuel ecosystem must be investigated to arrive at the true situation. The investigation is not necessarily to indict anyone but to strengthen safety in the aviation industry,” he said.
Nuhu added that aviation fuel quality breach has dire consequences.
“All that we are doing is for the travelling public, to boost confidence that as one board a plane, they are going to arrive their destination safely” he stated
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Director-General, Akin Olateru, recalled that the NCAA was in 2017 advised to ensure that aviation fuel was of top quality.
At its plenary, the House said the issue of contaminated aviation fuel required some level of urgency.
Leader of the House, Julius Ihonvbare, said an Ad hoc Committee should be given only four weeks to investigate and come up with a resolution for members to adopt.
He confirmed that the Max Air aircraft main tank had water in it.
This followed a motion of urgent public importance by Abdul Raheem Olawuyi
Ihonvbare said: “When I saw water coming out of the tank of the aircraft, I was very scared. It is very urgent because lives were involved and so, we cannot wait for a standing committee.”
He expressed concern about the increasing cases of aviation fuel contamination, associated air travel risks and poor adherence to standard operating procedures and industry best practices in the aviation oil industry.
The House Leader revealed that the contamination of the main tank led to the shutdown of the plane’s Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) .
He said that the management of Max Air reportedly confirmed that it bought the contaminated fuel from a certain aviation refuelling outlet.
The House Leader recalled that there have been many flight accidents caused by fuel contamination.
He added that in recent times, the NCAA has been receiving reports from airlines about water being found in their aircraft fuel tanks.
Ihonvbare expressed worry that regulatory agencies have demonstrated a lack of capacity and failed to ensure appropriate specification and proper handling of aviation fuel.