By SUMAILA OGBAJE

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, has directed all Nigerian Air Force (NAF) units and commanders to intensify adherence to aviation safety standards, saying safety must remain the foundation of air operations.

Aneke gave the directive while opening a maiden Safety Management Systems (SMS) training for officers of air rank on Tuesday in Abuja.

The directive, he said, followed recent reviews of aircraft handling, crew procedures and flight line management across NAF bases.

According to him, safety is not negotiable in NAF, adding that every flight, every maintenance task, every ground operation must reflect strict compliance with global aviation standards, and anything short of this is unacceptable.

The CAS said the complexity of ongoing operations had increased risk exposure, making it necessary for the service to reinforce preventive measures, personnel vigilance and technical discipline.

He said, “we are flying more missions, supporting more ground troops and managing heavier operational cycles.

“This means we must double our attention to every detail. Safety must always come first, regardless of tempo.”

Aneke announced that a revised safety framework had been activated to improve reporting culture, enhance human-factor training and strengthen the chain of responsibility from the flight line to command headquarters.

He directed that safety audits be intensified, and that commanders take full ownership of every procedure under their watch, adding that safety was a command responsibility with no excuses.

He said NAF was also investing in improved maintenance systems, flight data monitoring and refresher training for pilots, engineers and aircrew to minimise incidents.

“A well-maintained aircraft, disciplined crew and vigilant ground team are the best insurance against avoidable occurrences.

“If you see something, say something,” he emphasised.

He also said that “the culture of silence is dangerous in aviation. Transparency is what keeps us alive.”

The CAS reaffirmed that NAF’s operational successes must never come at the expense of safety.

He expressed confidence that the new measures would strengthen NAF’s safety record and enhance mission reliability across theatres.

“Airpower is only effective when it is safe. Our commitment is to protect the nation, and to do so without exposing our own personnel or assets to preventable risks,” he added.

Earlier, the Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation (SOSE), NAF, AVM Ebimobo Ebiowe, said the training was aimed at strengthening the service’s safety culture across all commands and formations.

Ebiowe said the programme was being conducted in fulfilment of the Chief of Air Staff’s vision for a more proactive, data-driven and system-anchored safety culture across the service.

According to him, the training follows deliberations from the July 2025 Safety Review Board meeting, which identified the need to formally integrate SMS training at the top leadership level.

Ebiowe noted that the NAF has steadily shifted from a preventive to a proactive safety culture, embedding SMS principles in planning and operations.

He urged participants to actively engage in the workshop and apply lessons in preparing SMS-compliant safety reports for forthcoming assessments.

He described the training as a milestone in ensuring that senior leadership is fully equipped to champion safety across strategic, operational, and tactical levels.

“The four pillars of SMS which are; Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Assurance, and Safety Promotion, remain fundamental to how modern air forces worldwide organise and sustain their safety architecture,” he said. (NAN)

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