The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has revoked the air operator certificates (AOCs) of Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited and Omni-Blu Aviation due to violations related to falsification of records. NCAA made the announcement on Friday via a post on X.
The regulatory body stated that both companies had violated Part 1.2.1.5 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs), which covers the falsification, reproduction, or alteration of applications, licenses, certificates, logbooks, reports, or records. According to the regulations, such violations result in the revocation of air operator certificates.
As a result, Eastwind Aviation’s AOC (EAL/AOC/03-24/001) and Omni-Blu Aviation’s AOC (OBA/AOC/12-15/002) have been officially revoked.
The revocation follows a series of safety-related incidents involving both operators. Notably, a helicopter operated by Eastwind Aviation crash-landed off the coast of Bonny Finima in the Atlantic Ocean on October 24, carrying eight individuals, all of whom did not survive. Additionally, Omni-Blu Aviation had previously faced issues with one of its helicopters being grounded by NCAA on April 18, 2021, after safety concerns were raised.
In related news, NCAA also announced on January 31 that Max Air would be suspending operations for three months following a crash-landing incident at Mallam Aminu International Airport in Kano. The aircraft lost its landing gear tire during landing, but no injuries were reported. The suspension will allow Max Air to conduct a comprehensive internal review of its operations. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has launched an investigation into the landing gear failure.
