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The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), on Monday,
said that errors from human performances account for over 75 per cent
of air accidents and incidents recorded globally in the aviation
industry.

The agency, at its international aviation safety
conference, organized in Lagos, explained that for air safety to be
fully achieved worldwide and in Nigeria particularly, human errors in
the aviation sector must be reduced to the barest minimum. “This
conference seeks to boost industry operators’ understanding of human
factor issues in aircraft operations with a view to reducing errors
from human performances to zero level and ultimately improve aviation
safety,” said Sam Oduselu, the Commissioner of the bureau, while
speaking at the event which witnessed the massive presence of industry
stakeholders.

According to Mr Oduselu, the conference, which seeks
to engage the industry players in cross fertilization of ideas on how
to put a complete end to any form of aircraft accident or incident,
became imperative following the recent rising cases of air mishap
experienced in the world’s aviation sector. He underscored the fact
that more than 80 per cent of aviation hull loss accidents are linked
with human factors, adding that global statistics have revealed that
human errors in aviation community has become a growing concern. “Human
factors are implicated in all incidents and accidents because each link
of the safety chain involves human beings,” he said. “Invariably, human
decisions and potential human errors are seen in accidents or incidents
involving one or more of design, maintenance, organization, the crew or
ATC (Air Traffic Control).”

The duties of the AIB

Mr Oduselu said that AIB conducts investigations and
embarks on relevant safety research and educational programmes to
emphasize on safety of the nation’s airspace, in order not to have a
repetition of the mishaps of 2005 and 2006 that saw to the untimely
deaths of hundreds of travellers. According to him, for human errors to
be reduced to a zero level, the government, airlines and agencies
should be willing to invest in manpower development. “Human errors will
reduce when capacity building is given a prime place in aviation
development,” he said.

Fidelia Njeze, the Minister of Aviation, who was
represented by Anne Ene-Ita, the Permanent Secretary, stated that human
errors in aviation is one challenge constantly confronting the sector
on a daily basis. “Although improvements in technology have reduced
equipment failure in the list of causal factors of aviation disasters,
human element as the interface among other components of aviation
operations remains an issue that is yet to be fully addressed,” she
said.

“Experts must begin to adopt a systematic approach to
investigations that take into cognizance the roles and delicate
interactions that take place between the different preventive stages
before accident or incident occurs,” she said. “To its credit,
investigative reports of incidents and accidents in Nigeria in the past
have no doubt provided valuable information that have helped shaped the
direction the sector has taken in terms of safety, but we must do more.”