NAMA partners NEMA, others on live aircraft simulation

Ahead of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit coming up in March 2016, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)has joined forces with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other critical stakeholders responsible for managing aviation crisis like the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), NIMASA, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, local divers etc in a live aeronautic simulation of an air crash into the Atlantic Ocean at Oworonshoki Sand Beach in Lagos.  Code named “Ja’ Sokun,” the National Aeronautical Search and Rescue Exercise (NASAREX) focused on a disaster that could result from an air crash and create mass casualty incident which requires a coordinated response from all critical stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of managing aviation crisis incidences in Search and Rescue and Epidemic Evacuation Plan , SAREEP.  The mock air crash search and rescue exercise which was largely successful enabled stakeholders to assess their level of preparedness in emergency responses.   Speaking at the end of the exercise, the NEMA Director of Search and Rescue, AVM Charles Otegbade congratulated participants on the “combined effort in achieving an impressive outcome,” even as he assured that “all gaps recorded in the simulation exercise would be closed by the relevant stakeholders.” It will be recalled that a similar Air Crash Simulation exercise was carried out last year on land in Abuja as an annual requirement from the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO.