The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clamped on the operations of Max Air involving its operations of Boeing 737 aircraft in Nigeria for safety reasons.
Recall that there was an incident involving water in the fuel tank of one of the B737s belonging to Max Air at the Yola Airport.
However, NCAA listed several more incidents involving the Max Air aircraft in Abuja, Kano and Yola.
The NCAA carried out this action by a suspension letter signed by the Director, Operations Training and Licensing, Captain Ibrahim Bello Dambazau to Max Air.
This is an excerpt from the letter:
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) hereby suspends Parts A3 (Aircraft Authorization) and D43 (Aircraft Listing) of the Operations Specifications issued to Max Air Ltd. with regards to the operations of the Boeing B737 aircraft type in your fleet”.
“With the above suspension, you are to immediately suspend the operations of all Boeing B737 aircraft in your fleet
The listed infractions include:
Loss of Number 1 Main Landing Gear (MLG) wheel during the serious incident involving a Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBDwhich occurred between Take-off at Yola Airport Adamawa State and on landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja Nigeria on 7th May, 2023;
Fuel Contamination of the main fuel tanks of aircraft B737-300, Registration Marks; 5N-MHM, leading to the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) shutdown on ground Yola Airport on the 7th of July, 2023;
Aborted take-off of Boeing 737-400 aircraft, registration marks 5N-MBD, which occurred at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) due to high Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) indication on the 11th of July, 2023;
An air return by aircraft B737-300, Registration Marks; 5N-MHM to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) due to duct overheat indication in the cockpit on the 11th of July, 2023.
Max Air will now be forced to undergo a safety audit to determine if and when the B737 aircraft would be back in operation.
