The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has declared that despite the large number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Remotely Piloted Aircraft (UAVs/RPAs) otherwise known as drones, none of them is certified by the authority.

Daily Trust reports that the NCAA as far back as 2017 developed regulations on drone operations.

The guidelines issued by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were designed to stop the unauthorised operation of drones in the country.

Under the regulations, the Authority may issue a remote pilot licence to the applicant if he or she is 16 years of age and has passed the various tests stipulated.

Section 21.3.1 of the regulations provides that ?Every person lawfully entitled to the possession of an RPA in Nigeria should register the RPA with a gross mass of 250grm and more stipulated by the Authority and hold a valid certificate of registration.?

But speaking at the ongoing fifth Drone Technology Expo and Conference at the NIGAV Expo Centre at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the Director, Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS) of NCAA, Engr. Godwin Balang, stated that none of the equipment being flown falls under the certified category in the country.

The NCAA also clarified that contrary to the claim of N3 million for drone users to register the equipment with the authority, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Niig.CARs) stipulates only the sum of N5,000 for the registration.

He reiterated that no drone has been officially certified for operation in the country, stressing that while conventional aircraft undergo type certification, drones are still evolving and lack harmonised global standards for evaluation.

He said: ?There is no single drone that falls under the certified category in Nigeria. The implication of that is that you now have to set the rules, know how to control the operations of that category of that aircraft that are not certified and because they are not certified, there are no written standards anywhere.

?If we do understand that, then, some of the things that are happening will not come as a surprise. The difficulty in certification, the difficulty in getting pilots certified and the security challenges that come with that, they all fall within that category of context. But, as a country, we have the responsibility to do something about it.

?As of seven to eight years ago, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex on drones has not yet come up. However, coming off the annex does not make any difference because the annex is targeted at certified aircraft.

?When we came in, we had an advisory circular to help do something about this. Before laws are written, people are already doing what they are doing. Some of the countries that were already issuing licences are in reverse. For instance, South Africa used to issue, but they have reversed it now.?

Also, Balang noted that the minimum requirement for Rate of Climb (ROC) for drones is N800,000 as provided in the Nig.CARs 2023 regulations. (Daily Trust)

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