Nigeria Content Online

The federal
government has purchased a $3.5million (N525 million) brand new TBM 850
Super-Fast turboprop aircraft for the training of pilots.

The aircraft,
bought to boost the competence level of pilots trained in the country,
as well as to enhance aviation safety, is to be used at the Nigerian
College of Aviation (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna State.

“The new TBM 850
will enable us to raise the level of our training to the highest
possible standards, as it will expose our student pilots to the latest
systems available on modern aircraft,” said Adebayo Araba, the rector
of the college, in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos,
over the weekend.

According to Mr.
Araba, the airplane, which has arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja, will be used primarily for the Advanced Transport Pilot
(ATP) training courses, adding that the delivery of the 2010 model TBM
850 aircraft was a significant milestone in the strategic resolve of
the federal government and the management of NCAT to ensure that the
college regains its former reputation as Africa’s foremost aviation
training institution.

“I can say to you
categorically, the college is going to be the first college ever to
have this type of airplane in their inventory for training, because
there is always this global change and we are really ready for the
advance training when it comes to piloting, instead of reducing the
training to piston engine. So, we’ve gone a step further to turboprop
plane,” he declared.

Raise the standards

The aviation
teacher noted that the pressurised aircraft is equipped with advanced
avionics systems such as glass cockpit, Enhanced Ground Proximity
Warning Systems (EGPWS), Traffic Alert & Collision Avoidance System
(TCAS), and Flight Management Systems (FMS).

“Changes in global
aviation training require a strategic repositioning of our college to
meet the demands of the twenty-first century aviation training; and the
growing demand within the African continent for world-class aviation
schools.

“This is part of our overall strategy to raise training standards in Nigeria and the world at large,” he said.

Mr. Araba, however,
disclosed that the airplane was manufactured and customised
specifically for the college by Daher-Socata of France, adding that the
aircraft is part of the institution’s 2010 federal government capital
budget.

The Nigerian
College of Aviation Technology is the only aviation training
institution in the country owned and managed by the federal government.