The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in collaboration with major industry stakeholders recently carried out a simulation exercise aimed at preparing participants for the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit scheduled for early 2022.
The simulation exercise which was code-named SAREXNAMA 2021 was based on an air crash which occurred at the Mafoluku area of Oshodi in Lagos, a few meters from Runway 18 Left and the local airport, Ikeja, and focused on executing a coordinated response during the search and rescue phases of an air crash incident.
The mock-up exercise involved an aircraft with registration No. ZYMMM carrying thirty-eight (38) passengers, four (4) crew members and was flying from Abuja en route Accra during which it diverted to Lagos as a result of an electrical fault – fifteen (15) survivors were rescued while the remaining twenty-three were unaccounted for.
At the end of the exercise, NAMA’s Managing Director (MD), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu articulated his satisfaction at the sheer number of participants who showed up to represent their various agencies, but observed that lapses were still apparent in areas of coordination and response time during the exercise – lapses which he said would be diligently looked into.
Among the participants of this timely exercise were representatives of all the various aviation agencies and others from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigeria Air Force, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) amongst others.
NAMA carries out a similar exercise annually in a bid to put to the test the efficacy of its search and rescue procedures, and to strengthen collaboration between itself and other agencies also involved in search and rescue missions – a duty which is imbibed in the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of ICAO Annex 12; Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation Pt. 14 of 2005; NAMA Search and Rescue Manual and the National Disaster Response Plan by NEMA, in accordance with Act 12 of 1999 constitution.
