The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has written an All Operators Letter (AOL) to ‘All Boeing 737 Aircraft Operators’ in the country to comply as the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) to all owners and operators of Boeing Company Model 737-300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER series airplanes.
According to the AOL signed by Engr. Godwin Balang, the General Manager in charge of Air Operators Certificate and Safety on behalf of the Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu: “The Authority has reviewed the FAA AD2020-16-51 vis-à-vis the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown that necessitated the storage of B737 aircraft and made a determination as follows: That compliance with the FAA emergency AD must be carried out by affected operators of Boeing 737 aircraft in Nigeria as required by the AD and all affected operators should submit evidence of compliance with the FAA AD2020-16-51 to their Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI) within two days.” NCAA emphatically told the affected airlines to ‘ensure strict compliance’.
A source from NCAA who spoke on the condition of anonymity said there is no cause for alarm. “NCAA has written to all the airlines operating B737s in the country and directed them to report back to the regulatory agency in two days’ time on their compliance. Any affected aircraft will be thoroughly inspected and proper checks will be carried out.
He also commented that “it will affect some aircraft while some will not. Nigeria airlines will not feel the impact because not all the aircraft are being operated due to low patronage as a result of the recent resumption due to Covid-19.”
According to the FAA, “This emergency AD was prompted by four recent reports of single-engine shutdowns due to engine bleed air 5th stage check valves being stuck open. Corrosion of the engine bleed air 5th stage check valve internal parts during airplane storage may cause the valve to stick in the open position. If this valve opens normally at takeoff power, it may become stuck in the open position during flight and fail to close when power is reduced at top of descent, resulting in an unrecoverable compressor stall and the inability to restart the engine. Corrosion of these valves on both engines could result in a dual-engine power loss without the ability to restart. This condition, if not addressed, could result in compressor stalls and dual-engine power loss without the ability to restart, which could result in a forced off-airport landing.”
Arik Air, Max Air, Azman Air, Dana Air, Aerocontractors, and Air Peace, all have in their fleet B737 aircraft and will be affected because they had their aircraft stored for over 7 days.
Source: AviationAges.com