Flight diversion: Aviation dispatchers spit fire, accuse pilot, ATC of disregarding ‘operational control’

The controversy surrounding the diversion of the Lagos/Abuja bound flight to Asaba airport has sparked various narratives and attributions to the incident.

Among these circulating news items are suggestions that the flight’s diversion might have been caused by a discrepancy in the flight plan provided to the pilot by the flight dispatcher on duty.

This notion implies a potential human error in the transmission or reception of flight information, leading to the unintended redirection of the aircraft.

Additionally, there are claims suggesting that the pilot and other crew members, being foreigners, might have lacked adequate understanding of the local terrain.

This lack of familiarity with the geographical layout of the area could have contributed to the decision to divert the flight to the Asaba airport, possibly due to misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the surroundings.

The unfolding controversy continues to involve key players who are engaging in discussions and debates, each presenting their own perspectives and explanations regarding the incident. As the federal government conducts investigations to uncover the actual sequence of events leading to the diversion, these various narratives persist as plausible explanations for the unusual route taken by the flight.

It remains a complex situation with multiple angles and viewpoints, and further investigations by relevant authorities are expected to shed more light on the exact circumstances that led to the diversion of the flight to Asaba airport.

While some key players have also questioned the role of the Air Traffic Controllers on duty the day in question, an umbrella body of one of the principal actors in the incident, the dispatch rider who filed the flight plan supposedly used by the pilot has come out to exonerate the dispatch rider.

The association under the aegis of Flight Dispatcher Association of Nigeria (FLIDAN) in its reaction said contrary to the believe that the flight dispatcher issued the wrong flight plan, that the flight dispatcher followed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations, Part 8 Operations, by filing a flight plan with Aeronautical Information Service, AIS which was transmitted to the Control Tower.

According to the Association, contained in the flight plan delivered by the dispatcher specifically stated among others that the time of the flight was 13:00, flight duration: 55mins Endurance: 6 hours, the weather folder given showed Abuja weather was okay.

The Association further declared: “The Pilot called the Air Traffic Control (Tower) for clearance to depart to Asaba, the Tower granted the request against the legal flight plan submitted by the Flight Dispatcher.

FLIDAN accused the control tower of granting the request for take off to the pilot of the aircraft against the legal flight plan submitted by the Flight Dispatcher.

“Both the Pilot and the ATC seem not to follow what was filed which by implication, meant that they disregarded “Operational Control ” of the Flight Dispatcher which empowers a 50% Joint and Equal Responsibility of the Safety of the flight to the Flight Dispatcher.

“The Airlines’ Operational control which allowed a pilot to generate his own Operational Flight Plan, OFP, thereby taking the full responsibility of the Dispatch Release is an outright breach of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, NCAR Part 8.

“The Airlines’ Operations Control further contravened the NCAR which states that an airline pilot shall take to the destination airport a copy of the Flight Plan, Dispatch Release and Load Manifest. By implication, if the pilot had the flight plan on him, he would have gotten his destination right, the Dispatch Release if it was with him summarises the departure and destination which was clearly disregarded.

The Association argued that the ATC should not have granted a scheduled flight clearance to depart to a destination that was not as filed by the Flight Dispatcher.

“The Airline in a show of absolute disregard for Aviation Law went ahead to suspend the Flight Dispatcher who upheld the License issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and carried out his job as required by law.”

The Association, while calling on the NCAA to beam its search light on the Operations Control of the Airline which it said has seized Operational Control from the Flight Dispatcher, it also suggested that the ATC might need to look into the regulations that govern granting clearance contrary to filed flight plan.

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