Following the report by Royal Air Maroc that its baggage cabin door was open after take-off upon discovering its cargo door light flickering, an indigenous aircraft engineer with over 41-year experience and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) have questioned some claims made by the airline.
The argument is based on the fact that it is impossible to access the cargo door while the engine of the aircraft on, as anyone within the zone could be sucked into the engine. Also, if the door of any aircraft is open while the engine is on, an indicator light should come up at the cockpit and when this does not happen, the aircraft could be faulty and should not be airworthy.
Recalled that the pilot flying the B737-700 belonging to Royal Air Maroc with registration number CN-RNQ said he discovered that the cargo door light was flickering on and despite the aviation security escort visual observation that the Cargo door was closed, he alerted the control tower, requesting to return back to the apron, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, at about 05.30 hours of October 20, 2019.
According to the engineer who craved anonymity, he said the aircraft cargo door is opened from outside the airplane by pulling the door handle out of the recess and rotating it counter-clockwise, adding that rotation of the handle activates a torque tube to withdraw the latch rollers from the latch fitting.
Read also: FAAN refutes attack on Royal Air Maroc aircraft
“As the door swing onboard under the tension of the door balance mechanism, the door warning proximity switch is activated to energize the appropriate door warning in the control cabin to alert the crew.
“The forward cargo is close to the second engine which is called ‘Danger Zone.’ When the engine is operating, the forward cargo becomes a dangerous zone as anyone within the zone could be sucked into the engine. The opening and closing of the cargo door, however, takes more than three minutes.
“The afterward cargo compartment works on the same principle as the forward cargo doors. However, the afterward cargo door is higher from the ground than the forward. It is a dangerous practice to go and open because of the engine blast,” the engineer said.
He said the proximity switch and the plunger could vibrate when the engine lever is moved above idle running, for some seconds, the light may flash and the warning light will remain off. “It is never an easy thing to open the cargo doors while the engine is running,” he added.
Victoria Shin-Aba, Terminal Manager, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), said a lot of efforts have been made by FAAN to beef up safety and security at the airside.
“We have bushes around and since then, we made sure that all the bushes are cleared. We started using patrol vehicles to escort aircraft. These issues always happen in the evening from 7 till Morning, which is when it is slightly dark. So we positioned the patrol van permanently to the Alpha three, which is where most of the aircraft turn after landing in the taxiway.
“There is a patrol van with security agencies such as FAAN, police, and AirForce. We have another van escorting the aircraft to park. We do this both in the day and night. You see them escorting the aircraft. So, as soon as they land and turn, we follow them to a reasonable, allowable distance until they park,” Shin-Aba said.
She acknowledged that there is a little challenge with CCTV because of the night operation but assured that they now have dashboard cameras installed in some of the patrol vans.
She assured that by next week, all the patrol vans will be equipped with dashboard cameras.
The terminal manager also acknowledges that FAAN has a challenge with its perimeter fences since the area that the airport covers are very large and the airport is faced with constant encroachment, which has been like a battle between FAAN and the surrounding communities.
“The airport is within the city and we are battling with the communities around. We are trying to make sure we do it right. We have the military men on the airside that helps us at the airside. We have night guards and those hiding inside the bush to ensure there are no intruders.
“We have identified where we are going to build the dog house at the airport. The consultants are coming and they will build the dog house. We are having 10 dogs for a start. This is also on the pipeline.
“On our part, we try to reduce access control. We had about 25,000 people with on duty cards but this has been reduced to about 16,000. We are doing a good job,” Shin-Aba said.
