Air Controllers In Manual Separation, As Radar Coverage Breaks Down

FOR several hours yesterday, air traffic controllers had a hectic time controlling traffic and monitoring the airspace following the break down of the multi-billion-Naira radar at the Lagos airport.
This comes as Africa’s most profitable airline, Ethiopia Airways, made good its dream by
introducing B787-8 aircraft, popularly known as Dreamliner, on the Lagos-Addis Ababa route.
The airline became the second airline in the world to acquire the latest Boeing product and the first carrier in Africa to acquire the composite built airplane. Nigeria also remains the first route ever in Africa to receive the airplane.
An air traffic controller told reporters that the equipment, popularly known as total radar coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), failed at 11.52GMT.
As at the time of filing the report, the equipment was being rectified by a group of engineers.
The source said the Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nnamdi Udoh, was on hand to find solution to the problem.
A top official attributed the breakdown to power failure, which affected the system’s console.
Meanwhile, questions are being asked concerning the consistent breakdown of the 64 million Euros air traffic management tool.

“What about the automatic generator that is supposed to start the system immediately there is power outage? “What is the autonomy of the battery bank that is supposed to hold the system on notice for minimum of six hours?” These are some of the questions that stakeholders in the sector have continually asked.
The Guardian learnt that the situation, which had persisted since Thursday, forced air traffic controllers to manually control aircraft as they could no longer see incoming aircraft or aircraft in the airspace with the radar.
They complained that the procedural way of aircraft separation was very difficult for them.

Spokesman for the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah-Ogiewonyi, Toyin Okpaise, promised to get back before filing the report.
Experts had raised concern over the system and called on the Federal Government to perfect the shortcomings in the air safety equipment.
Others had asked government to investigate the radar system to forestall another disaster in the country’s aviation sector.

-Guardian
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God save Nigeria!