The Rector of the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna State, Captain Akali Modibo, has debunked the insinuation that two helicopters are missing in the college.
He said the helicopters in question were duly sold as they were becoming a drain on the resources of the college, revealing that the college spent N5bn maintaining them for about 10 years while lying idle in the hangar.
It would be recalled that the choppers, Bell 206, were bought during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan for the purpose of training pilots, but the equipment were not the type used for training by the college.
As a result, the planes were redundant for 10 years until a decision was made to sell them.
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The rector, who spoke with aviation correspondents at the NCAT pavilion during the just concluded Aviation African Summit in Abuja, said each of the choppers was sold at $600,000 (over N470bn).
He said, “The helicopters have jet engines, and with jet engines, it is so expensive that an hour training would take you your entire Private Pilot Licensing (PPL) on the piston engine airplanes.
“We have never trained anybody on helicopters at the college. Probably, the past government didn’t seek advice from NCAT, and when the government wanted to purchase helicopters for its agencies, it decided to include NCAT.
“If the government had involved NCAT, we would have told them the type of aircraft we can use for training, which is piston engine helicopters. Nowhere in the world is this helicopter type used for training. It’s like you using a Boeing 737 aircraft to teach someone how to become a pilot; you don’t do that.”
He disclosed that the helicopters were eventually auctioned for about $600,000 each but were yet to be replaced because due process had to be followed.
