Plane engineers and technicians of the Nigerian Air Power (NAF) have reactivated a Dornier DO-228 plane, which was grounded for 23 years.
A press release by the NAF spokesman, Air Vice Marshal Olusola Akinboyewa, saying the feat, underscored NAF’s rising capability for indigenous upkeep to bolster its operational readiness, while contributing to Nigeria’s inherent aviation capabilities.
The plane, initially designated ‘5N-MPS’ and operated by the now defunct Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Metal, was grounded on the DANA facility in Kaduna since 2001.
He stated following a presidential directive for Ministries, Departments, and Businesses (MDAs) to switch such grounded platforms to the NAF for analysis and potential reactivation, the NAF initiated the venture.
AVM Akinboyewa stated the NAF took on the problem to reactivate the plane, a Sprint 201 Sequence with solely historical past of 1,081 flight hours, contemplating the duty a novel alternative to revive a helpful nationwide asset.
He stated the reactivation means of the grounded plane, now redesignated ‘NAF-039’, was carried out between June and September 2024, involving meticulous planning and painstaking execution by a crack crew of 5 engineering officers and 40 technicians from the NAF 431 Engineering Group (Engr Gp), Kaduna.
In keeping with him, the duty required the appliance of superior engineering methods and adherence to stringent aviation requirements.
“The success of this venture carries vital strategic implications, allowing for that, past enhancing the NAF’s fleet, it symbolises the Service’s resolve to attain self-reliance in aviation upkeep for operational effectiveness. It additionally serves as a morale booster for the NAF engineers and technicians, showcasing their means to undertake advanced tasks which in any other case could be outsourced to international entities,” he added.
The Chief of the Air Employees, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, recommended the 431 Engineering Group for his or her dedication, and emphasised the broader import of the achievement.
The CAS began that the venture mirrored NAF’s resolve to optimise assets, strengthen its fleet, and uphold nationwide safety via operational excellence.
The CAS was quoted as saying: “The profitable reactivation of NAF 039 is not only an operational acquire; it’s a assertion of our capabilities and our dedication to self-reliance.”
In keeping with the assertion, the accomplishment builds upon the NAF’s earlier successes, such because the conduct of the primary in-country 4,800-hour inspection on one other DO-228 plane in January 2024.
“Collectively, these milestones spotlight the NAF’s rising capability for superior in-house plane upkeep, and function a basis for future tasks geared toward attaining technical autonomy.
“The reactivation of NAF-039 after 23 years is greater than an engineering achievement; it showcases the NAF’s ingenuity, resilience, and dedication to operational excellence.
“It additionally reaffirms the Air Power’s important function in safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity, whereas highlighting its dedication to useful resource optimisation and self-reliance,” he said.
AVM Akinboyewa stated the newly reactivated plane will bolster the NAF’s tactical airlift capabilities by becoming a member of the fleet of DO 228 plane, a platform nonetheless actively used worldwide.
“This achievement solidifies the NAF’s place as a formidable participant in Africa’s aviation sector, with the potential to steer in indigenous upkeep and technical innovation,” the Airforce spokesman added.
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