Aircraft manufacturers whose aged products are sold to local Nigerian airlines, some of which have been involved in air tradegies in the last one year, may have a case to answer in a US court judging from a reading of the product liability laws of the US, according to a report by Empowered Newswire, a US-based Nigerian news agency.
Some Nigerian professionals in the US are already compiling all applicable US laws and lists of all registered Nigerian aircraft indicating their makers, age and maintenance status.
A copy of the compiled list of all Nigerian registered planes from an aviation database made available to the agency shows that most Nigerian planes are between 21-25 years old and are manufactured by Boeing, an international US based plane makers.
About 41 planes are currently registered in Nigeria, but only one is less than five years old, that being one of the presidential jets.
Three are within the 6-10 years old bracket and 20 planes are in the 21-25 years old bracket.
Also about nine planes fall into the 26-40 years old age bracket, and eight are between the 11-20 years old age bracket, according to airfleets.net, an international database website for aviation information.
According to the compilation, last week�s ADC plane that crashed in Abuja, is a 23-year old Boeing manufactured 737, whose first flight was made on September 27, 1983.
Although, experts said old planes were not necessarily flying coffins, but in the US where they are made, strict flying rules, including regular mandated checking, had to be complied with.
Besides, there are also product laws in the US that make manufacturers liable for accidents caused by a product that fatally malfunctions even after use.
For instance since December 2003, the US aviation authorities started enforcing what it calls the �final rule� a rule designed for old airplanes which �requires airplanes … to undergo inspections and records reviews by the administrator or a designated representative after their 14th year in service and at specified intervals thereafter. These inspections and records reviews will ensure that the maintenance of these airplanes� age-sensitive parts and components has been adequate and timely.�
Also the �final rule� prohibits �operation of these airplanes after specified deadlines unless damage-tolerance-based inspections and procedures are included in their maintenance or inspection programmes.�
Aviation experts consider the rule as a critical step towards ensuring the continuing airworthiness of aging airplanes operating scheduled service.
What is not clear however is whether similar rules are effectively in place or are being rigorously enforced in Nigeria.
But in the area of product liability, sources pointed to US product liability laws that could be used against US manufacturers like Boeing. And Nigerians abroad seem set to exploit those laws.
According to one of them, a US university administrator, Dr. Baba Adam, �There are product liability laws in the USA. For example, when kids were trapped in old refrigerators with door handle or latch. When the kids died in the fridge – because they could not open the door from inside the fridge� all the manufacturers of the fridge were held liable� that�s why� all the fridge door are now sealed by plastic/magnetic. We think these junk planes fall under same categories.� He disclosed that lawyers in the US and in Nigeria were being consulted on the issue.
Adam added that a petition would be sent to the White House, the Secretary of the US Department of Transportation, the US Congress, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on the issue.