Following the suspension of the operations of all Boeing 737 aircraft in the fleet of Max Air over fuel contamination and other safety concerns, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced investigation into the activities of aviation fuel marketers.
As part of its regulatory role, the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, on Thursday night, revealed that the agency has identified three aviation fuel suppliers.
According to Capt Nuhu, the companies were identified in the course of its investigation into the circumstances that led to contamination in the commodity supplied to Max Air within the week.
The NCAA boss equally noted that they took immediate action on the incident on that day, saying it does not relax in carrying out its oversight functions as some quarters were speculating.
In a Zoom meeting with journalists on Thursday night, Capt. Nuhu disclosed that Max Air’s B737 operations were grounded following a series of incidents it recorded, with the major one being fuel contamination of the main fuel tanks of aircraft B737-300, with registration Marks 5N-MHM, leading to the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) shut down on ground Yola Airport on July 7, 2023.
Nuhu further explained that the aircraft involved was grounded immediately while the crew was interrogated the next day.
“Yes, it’s true, the operations of Max Air B737 fleet have been suspended for a series of issues they’ve had over a couple of times. We did have a meeting with Max Air about a month ago after the landing incident in Abuja, and a lot of issues were trashed out. As you are all aware, several days ago, there was a video that went viral in regards to the issue they had on ground in Yola where supposedly, drops of water were removed from the aircraft. Certainly, during aircraft fuelling, they had water in it but we do not know the amount because we were not there. That same day, when the report reached me, I called for a Zoom meeting with my folks, we spoke and that particular aircraft was grounded.
“The grounding was to ensure it is safe to resume normal passenger operations because when the fuel enters the tanks, it goes through the engines, it can do damage to the fuel controlling it, there are a lot of things that can be spoilt, so we have to be sure they take the appropriate maintenance procedure to ensure the continued airworthiness of the aircraft. The second aircraft had landing issues, it was supposedly fixed by Aero contractors in Lagos.
“We have started the investigation and we have identified three aviation fuel companies they took fuel from that day. We will mete out sanctions where necessary. We are going to hold a meeting with the regulatory commission in other to ensure compliance with standards,” he said.
He revealed that two fuel companies had, some time ago, been banned from supplying fuel to aircraft in Abuja over contamination and non-compliance with standards.
While insisting that it was also the responsibility of the airline and the captain in command to check the fuel before taking off from a particular airport, Nuhu said: “All these are in the manuals. It is the responsibility of the captain, NCAA staff can’t be at all fuel stations, we don’t have enough staff to go into all stations, it is the responsibility of the airline.
“The aircraft involved was grounded immediately pending investigation, we acted immediately after it happened, and the crew were interrogated the following day, there are so many things that happened that are not made public, I am only supposed to speak when we have concluded and have affirmative action,” he added.
The NCAA had suspended, with immediate effect, the parts A3 and D43 in the Operations Specifications of the Boeing B737 Aircraft type in the fleet of Max Air Limited.
The Authority, in a statement signed by Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Affairs, said that its action is based on several occurrences that involved the Boeing B737 aircraft type listed as follows: Loss of number 1 Main Landing Gear (MLG) wheel during the serious incident involving Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBO, which occurred between take-off at Yola Airport, Adamawa State, and on landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria, May 7, 2023.
Others are fuel contamination of the main fuel tanks of aircraft B737-300, registration marks 5N-MHM, leading to the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) shut down on ground Yola Airport on July 7, 2023; aborted take-off of Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBD, which occurred at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) due to high Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) indication on July 11, 2023; and an air return by aircraft B737-300, registration marks 5N-MHM, to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) due to duct overheat indication in the cockpit on July 11, 2023.