The federal government at the weekend announced the acquisition of six new Diamond training aircraft for Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria.
The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika made the announcement via his twitter handle @hadisirika shortly after inspection of the new equipment in Austria alongside the Rector of the College, Capt. Mohammed Abdulsalami.
His tweet read, “Just received in Austria, six new state-of-the-art aircraft for NCAT Zaria. To be delivered within 3 weeks.”
“The fleet increase for the school is ‘in our effort to catch up with technology in line with our approved roadmap.
“Our efforts have earned Zaria the status of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Regional Training of Center of Excellence,” said Sirika.
The rector of the school, Capt. Abdulsalami in December 2019 during the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) Gateway Forum hinted journalists in Lagos at the plan to take deliver of new aircraft for training in the first quarter of 2010 to boost aircraft fleet and enhance training capabilities of the institution.
“The acquisition will increase its fleet of trainer aircraft to enhance its training capabilities,” said the rector who added that the acquisition of more trainer aircraft would create a window for its young pilots to gain more flying hours to prepare them ready for the job market.
The Rector also said, “The whole idea of getting more training aircraft is that it will greatly enhance our training capacity. By breaking down the aircraft orders into batches until the twenty target is achieved is part of strategy to equip the college for efficiency.”
