The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) on Wednesday kicked off the amendment of its 2019 civil aviation (investigation of air accidents and incidents) regulations 2019 with a pledge to continue to work tirelessly “to ensure the continuous safety of air transport in Nigeria.”
The bureau’s Director General, Engr Akin Olateru, vowed to replicate the safety standard in aviation on other modes of transportation, “thereby ensuring overall transportation safety in the country.”
He spoke yesterday at the stakeholders’ consultative forum on the proposed amendment held in Abuja and virtually for those outside Nigeria’s capital city.
Daily Trust reports that the review was coming after the birth of NSIB formerly known as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
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The metamorphosis has expanded the function of the bureau to cover other modes of transportation like rail, water and land transportation.
Olateru explained that the amendments the bureau is trying to implement “will help ensure that the Bureau’s Regulations are consistent with the Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) set forth in the ICAO Annex 13, which addresses aircraft accident investigation, the evolution of new technologies, and the changes in the industry.”
He reeled out changes in the new amendment to include the provision of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) establishment Act 2022, which allowed for the transition of the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) to the NSIB, a multi-modal safety investigation agency.
“In view of this, we have made some new inclusions to the previously circulated version of the Bureau’s draft regulation, which have been highlighted for your perusal.
“Some of the new inclusions in the draft amended regulation include the provision of Family Assistance to accident victims and their families, Safety Data Collection and Processing System (SDCPS), Competent Authority, Mandatory Reporting System and Voluntary Reporting System.”
According to him, the consultative meeting was to ensure that updated and standardized regulations were designed for the Bureau, which has been at the forefront of aviation safety promotion since its establishment through the conduct of thorough accident investigation and timely release of reports.
He implored the stakeholders, especially the airlines whom he noted are the biggest beneficiaries of safety “to see this forum as an opportunity to make valuable contributions by making useful input to the amendment of the Bureau’s Civil Aviation Regulation 2019.”
