Tag Archives: AVAITION

Arik Settles N4 Billion Debt To FAAN

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Arik Air paid over N4 billion to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for landing , parking fees, rent,

passenger service charge (PSC), and fuel surcharge last year.

The payments, it was gathered were made for the months of January, February, March , April, June , July, September and December last year.

The 4 bllion naira debt is contrary to claims by sources close to FAAN, which claimed that the carrier had not been paying its bills since it began operations eight years ago.

Investigations revealed that Arik Air in January last year paid N335,562,212.50; N318,575,022.50 in February and N327,359,180 in March.

In April, it paid N370,417,622.50 while in June same year , it paid N349,471,655. In July, the airline paid N315,530,737.50.

In September and December , it paid N344,486,305 and N477,232,605.50 respectively to the Federal government.

“ The total amount paid to FAAN in 2014 was N3,941,023,995. This is contrary to claims that the airline has not been paying its bills,”a source close to the carrier said on condition of anonymity.

FAAN according to investigations said the airline owes about N287,834,450.47 and $8,192.00 for its Abuja operations .

FAAN, in a letter endorsed by its Regional Manager, Abuja Airport Engineer O.O Osituyo to the Arik Arik Station Manager, Abuja put the debt accruing on the electronic platform hitherto operated by Maevis Limited at N470,338,773,68 and $1,748.90 respectively.

FAAN said the debts covered landing and parking fees, passenger service charge , rent , service recovery charge for operations at Abuja Airport.

Last week, officials of FAAN disrupted Arik Air’s operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Credit – www.nigerianewsday.com

Cameroonian Villagers Find Remains Of American Pilot Whose Plane Went Missing Since 2014

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Villagers in Cameroon stumbled across the remains of an American pilot nearly a year after his small anti-poaching plane disappeared over forested, mountainous terrain, authorities said. The pilot’s family said the discovery brought some “closure” after not knowing what had happened for so long.

Hunters and farmers found the crash site of pilot Bill Fitzpatrick’s Cessna 172 several days ago and documents there confirmed his identity, Quetong Hardison, a government official in the area, told The Associated Press by telephone on Tuesday. He said officials were working to extract the remains and the wreckage in the Tombel area of southwest Cameroon.

“The area is very difficult to access and that is probably why it took such a long time for the plane to be found,” Hardison said.

The last contact between Fitzpatrick, 59, and aviation authorities was on the night of June 22 as he approached Douala on Cameroon’s coast. He had taken off earlier in the day from Kano, Nigeria.

His final destination was to be Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Republic of Congo, which is managed by African Parks, a non-profit group based in Johannesburg. The job of the former Peace Corps volunteer would have been to scan the central African park’s clearings for elephant carcasses from his cockpit and alert rangers who could intercept poachers escaping with ivory tusks.
There was no mayday signal on the night of Fitzpatrick’s disappearance, suggesting he crashed into a mountain without time to react, and that weather or a fuel shortage was not the cause. No signal was detected from the plane’s emergency transmitter, which can be activated on impact or by the pilot.

Fitzpatrick’s wife, Paula, and their three children live in Chelan, Washington. The family thanked those who helped in the search for the pilot, who had also worked for U.S. national parks.

“Bill’s plane was lost nearly 10 months ago, and this brings some degree of closure for our family,” the family said in an email to the AP. It said Fitzpatrick’s last flight was not a “singular trip” but part of a “lifelong commitment” to conservation and philanthropy in Africa and the United States.