Following stories making rounds on the social media as a result of an incident which happened last week, Arik Air has come out to debunk the story and has consequently declared that its operations are safe.
The airline in a recent release noted that the claims by one R. Isenalumhe were unfounded and that the Pilot-in-Command actually acted accordingly, in line with the necessary safety measures for the situation at hand.
According to the statement signed by the CEO of Arik Air Captain Roy Ilegbodu, the incident referred to by the author of the article occurred in Abuja on the 8th of March 2021.
In his words, the actions taken by the crew of the flight were strictly precautionary as the Pilot-in-Command of the aircraft took the necessary safety measures by returning the aircraft to land as they have been well trained to do in line with standard practice, after observing a cautionary indication light in the cockpit. The aircraft he noted are modern, next generation aircraft equipped with redundancies and annunciators that enhance safe operations in all stages of flight.
Arik Air in line with standard practice and being a responsible corporate organization notified the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), who subsequently checked, certified and returned to service the aircraft after all mandatory reports and processes had been fulfilled in accordance with global safety standards.
According to Capt. Ilegbodu, “It is unfortunate that R. Isenalumhe , a trained lawyer who raised the alarm displayed an unprofessional approach to this issue as he is not an expert to declare an aircraft unsafe. We had expected him to go the extra mile to investigate and ask probing questions from professionals in the industry or refer the incident to the appropriate regulatory body, the NCAA, if he felt so concerned about air safety. We wonder what his motive may be and Arik reserves the right to take action on this libelous and unprofessional conduct.”
“Arik Air as an organization goes over and above safety standards in all facets of our operations. This is clearly evident in our over 14 years of operating as an airline. Safety is our cardinal policy and we will never operate an aircraft that is unsafe. We seize this opportunity to assure our esteemed customers of our unflinching commitment to safety which can never be compromised. “
The airline also debunked the claims by the same Mr. Isenalumhe that Arik has made repayments to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) on its pre-receivership debt. This he said was totally false. He noted that AMCON has not put any undue pressure on Arik for repayments at the detriment of operation. Instead, AMCON he said has provided funds and all forms of support to assist the airline in its operations.
