Nigeria Lifts Ban on Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has lifted the ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

With this announcement, the aircraft can now operate in Nigeria’s airspace as the regulatory authority said the approval was given since February 12.

NCAA had banned Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019 following two fatal accidents involving the aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

But the Director-General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, said on November 18, 2020, the agency received a “Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community (CANIC), CAN-2020-24, advising it of the United States Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ongoing continued operational safety activities related to returning Boeing Model 737-8 and 737-9 (737 MAX) aircraft service.”

In a statement he signed on Sunday, Nuhu added that this, however, made the FAA issue a final rule/Airworthiness Directive (AD) that mandated the following actions for Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which includes “install new flight control computer software and new 737 MAX display system software; incorporate certain Airplane Flight Manual flight crew operating procedures, modify horizontal stabiliser trim wire routing installations; conduct an angle of attack sensor system test, and conduct an operation readiness flight”.

He also said that NCAA recognised that a Joint Authority Technical Review (JATR) that comprised of International Aviation Authorities such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Transport Canada (TC), and Singapore Civil Aviation Authority, amongst others, carried out a joint review of the Boeing 737 MAX safety system alongside FAA and NASA.

Nuhu added that all foreign air operators intending to operate the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into Nigeria must submit evidence of compliance with the FAA AD February 24, 2020.

Nuhu also stated that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority would continue to ensure strict compliance to safety regulations as a violation would be viewed seriously.

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