Old Airliners Come Under Review

Twice is apparently enough in Nigeria. After two aviation tragedies since October -- including last weekend's accident involving a Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 that claimed 103 lives -- the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has ordered spot checks on all Boeing 737-100s and -200s in service in that country. The airliners will be grounded until they can be inspected in accordance with an Airworthiness Directive issued more than five years ago by the FAA in Washington.

Nigerian media reports state 18 aircraft in all are affected by the action, flying for airlines such as EAS Airlines, Space World, Trans Sahara, and Bellview -- the airline whose 732 went down outside Lagos on October 23 (file photo of aircraft, below). Only Aero Contractors, which operates the more-advanced B737-300 series, is exempt from the NCAA's grounding action.

"This AD came about as a result of the aforementioned identified unsafe condition that is likely to exist or develop on the airplanes of the same type design. In this regard, as a precautionary measure, all operators of Boeing Model 100, 200 and 200C series airplanes registered or operating in Nigeria are required to immediately ground their airplanes, for accomplishment of this AD," said an NCAA representative.

The AD in question -- issued July 28, 2000 by the FAA -- concerns stress corrosion cracks in a spar located in the center-front of the horizontal stabilizer. The AD states cracks were found by maintenance personnel during routine checks of two B737-100 and -200 series airplanes, noting that "this repetitive inspection was therefore called up to address the identified unsafe condition."

There's no explanation of why the Nigerian government has decided only now to implement the AD -- and, for that matter, why only 737s are coming under scrutiny. Since the Bellview accident, the state of the entire Nigerian airline industry has been questioned by many analysts, who have claimed the country lacks sufficient funding and oversight to keep its fleet of older aircraft safely in the air. The European Union cited the Bellview crash -- the first for that airline in its 13-year history -- as yet another reason for a "blacklist" of airlines forbidden to fly in the union.

While it's not difficult to argue it took Nigeria too long to implement the Airworthiness Directive, it can't be denied when they make a decision in Nigeria... they mean right now. Thousands of passengers at the international airport in Lagos were stranded at the terminal as the aircraft they were scheduled to fly on where grounded at the gate, forcing those passengers to find other ways to get where they were going.

FMI: www.nopa.net/Aviation/messages/6.shtml