Windhoek
In a bid to ensure safety of commercial aircrafts, government wants lawmakers to endorse the Civil Aviation Bill to authorise commercial airlines to use armed in-flight security officers in light of global terrorism and other incidents.
Several international air operators have reportedly been using undercover officers on planes to ensure safety following the 2001 terror attacks.
A clause in the Civil Aviation Bill that was tabled by Works and Transport Minister Alpheus !Naruseb on Wednesday in the National Assembly shows that government would allow in-flight security officers to carry loaded guns, weapons, ammunition and other equipment, which they can use to restore or preserve control of aircraft.
According to the Aviation Safety Network, an international body that provides information on airline accidents, since 1976 about 830 people have lost their lives in 12 separate accidents after pilots intentionally crashed the aircrafts.
Aviation safety experts have over the years advocated for the introduction of in-flight officers to intervene in situations in which pilots try to intentionally crash the plane by locking themselves in the cockpit.
The most recent aircraft accident caused intentionally by the pilot occurred this year in March when 150 passengers died after a German wings Airbus A320 crashed into a mountain while on a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany. Information from the chief Marseille prosecutor in France indicates that the captain was locked out of the flight deck and the co-pilot directed the airplane to a continuous descent towards mountainous terrain.
Here in Namibia, 33 people died when the pilot of LAM Flight 470, an ERJ-190, intentionally crashed the aircraft in November 2013. Investigation results indicate that the accident was intentional. The captain made control inputs that directed the plane to the ground, shortly after the first officer had left the flight deck.
“Without limiting the powers of the commander of an aircraft or a person authorised by the commander (pilot-in-command), an in-flight security officer may take measures reasonably necessary to restore control of an aircraft to the commander or to preserve the control of an aircraft by the commander, including the use of reasonable force or assistance reasonably necessary in the circumstances,” reads part 12 of the Bill, which deals with aviation security.
The Bill, however, does not state whether the in-flight security officers will be dressed in civilian clothes or in uniform, but ideally such officers would be dressed in civilian clothes on an undercover mission. With approval from the pilot-in-command, security officers will also have the power to arrest anyone who has committed an offence or suspected of having committed an offence.
According to the Minister of Works and Transport, “It is not expected that the Government of Namibia would wish to introduce such a security practice in the immediate future.”
The minister said the move is mainly a preparatory measure to ensure that legislation is in place should aviation bodies decide to require all aircrafts to have in-flight security officers in future.
“This could happen at a very short notice and Air Namibia would be seriously disadvantaged if it could not quickly comply,” he said.
The Bill gives the Namibian Police Force’s inspector general the mandate to deploy police officers to serve as in-flight security officers.
If passed, the Bill would also pave the way for a stand-alone Civil Aviation Authority for Namibia in place of the current Directorate of Civil Aviation.
The Bill also provides for the director to be appointed by the NCAA board with approval from the minister. Discussions on the 203-page Bill were postponed for at least three weeks to allow lawmakers time to scrutinise the Bill before they can discuss and propose necessary changes where required.
New Era yesterday tried to get a comment from the national airline, Air Namibia, to hear what it makes of the proposed plans to introduce in-flight security officers but Air Namibia’s Corporate Communications head Paulus Nakawa could only say, “I am not privy to the content of the CAB(Civil Aviation Bill)”.