As part of efforts to enhance safety awareness in the Nigerian Aviation Industry, the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB) has unveiled plans to digitize accident investigation findings and reports. AIB Commissioner, Akin Olateru, disclosed that the process to digitize the accident investigation reporting was at the procurement stage and when fully implemented, Nigeria would be the first country to have such format.
Although the recognized format of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is by writing a bulky thesis, AIB is currently reviewing the format of presentation.
He also said the Saudi Arabian government had acknowledged the project as a great innovation that would change the global standard in reporting accidents’ investigation, and had expressed interest to partner AIB on the project.
Speaking at a two-day industry engagement on the review of accident reports, Olateru said the plan is to present accident investigation findings in graphic digital format, instead of word document.
“By doing so, airlines and other industry players will find it easier to read. The digitised format will be such that rather than going through documents, you can just click on the graphic and it tells you about the human factor. And if it is the engine that interests you, you click and it gives you all the information needed. It is about simplifying our incident reporting system,” he said.
Olateru added that the digitized incidents reporting system has been discussed by ICAO, and industry players have given a go ahead.
According to him, for the digitised format, a platform would be created which airlines, among other stakeholders, can subscribe to train their pilots, engineers, and others, and generate revenue to AIB.
The AIB commissioner disclosed plans to establish Aviation Safety Centre whereby the private sector and other relevant aviation agencies would be brought together to work on a platform such that when accidents are reported or report released, it would be seen by all.
“Usually incase of serious incidents, NCAA do send us paper work on the outcome of their investigations and AIB also do so in return. But we need to simplify by digitising our work.
There is a need to re-evaluate the systems and procedures of doing things and come up with a simplified way to enhance productivity, which is what has been done in AIB.”
