CHUKS OKOH
Two newly trained Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) pilots for its flight calibration aircraft have been presented to the Managing Director of the agency in Abuja.
This is a bid to develop the capacity of the flight calibration unit of NAMA after the agency took over the calibration aircraft from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority
Speaking shortly before the presentation of the pilots to the NAMA boss, the general manager incharge of flight calibration services, Engr Selzing Miri said, the agency was in dire need of having its own pilots to man their aircraft for future uses
Miri explained that two NAMA staff were pilots already were sent to Dubai for a type rating training on the King Air 350i aircraft used for the flight calibration exercise
He noted that the NAMA Boss, Engineer Umar Farouk has been so passionate in developing the unit without hesitating to see the young pilots being trained adding that he has given the assurance of support in developing them to full fledged calibration pilots
Miri, who is also the president of the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers, said, the process of developing the calibration unit began in 2019 under former minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika when the training started in order to build capacity to keep the Navigational facility current
He said it will a continuous process until the country’s flight calibration becomes fully functional with extended to neighbouring countries and beyond.
“The flight calibration unit comprises of pilots, aircraft engineers and flight inspectors while flight inspectors training is already advanced and preparing for checking out by their foreign partners soon”
According Miri, with the checking out of the flight calibration crew, the country is gradually moving towards attaining the capacity of rendering services not only to Nigeria but outside the country to those deserving the calibration with NAMA having all the requirements