THE ROLE OF LAW IN PROMOTING GENERAL SAFETY ON FLIGHT UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
THE ROLE OF LAW IN PROMOTING GENERAL SAFETY ON FLIGHT UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
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Date
2006-10
Authors
NGOZI., ONUOHA,
HAPPINES
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Aviation is one of the greatest and important unique inventions of man in the area of
transportation. Since 17 December 1903 near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina when a bicycle repairer
Orville Wright propelled himself through the air a distance of 120ft the first powered flight in a
heavier-than-air aircraft known to human, air transportation has been beneficial to man. Air
transportation globally constitutes significant proportion of the nations socio-economic system. It
facilitates movement of people, goods and services thereby assists in generating contact and
revenue on which economic, social and political progress of nations radiate. So air transport has
done more than provide a carrier service, it has affected economic way of life, made changes in
social and cultural viewpoints and had a hand in shaping the course of political history. Air
transport industry contributes directly to the economy through its employment and revenue
generation and indirectly by its purchase of goods and services from suppliers of the industry.
There is urgent need for governments to develop the industry to meet international standard and
requirement. Development of this industry will enhance economic development of countries
especially developing ones.
Nevertheless, this beautiful achievement of man is bedeviled by hazards. Law has to
intervene to minimize the hazards by regulating air traffic operations, imposing duties and
obligations on the various entities involved in air navigation.
Besides, aviation has always been exploited by perpetrators of unlawful acts, whose
trademark is terrorism. Aviation is constantly being targeted all over the world by terrorist groups
and individuals who see it as the most effective avenue to propagate political views, plights and
motives. It has always been very effective in gaining media attention and publicity for terrorism.
Thus security and safety have been major aspect of concern, which cannot be ignored by the
international community. Crime on board aircraft border on terrorism, hijack or air piracy,
assassination, bombing and so on which make flight unsafe. Violent crimes or unlawful acts in
aviation have always posed great threat and challenge to international civil aviation that
international community had to come up with some measures to tackle it.
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Moreover, series of accidents kept reminding aviators of the need to put in place safety
precautions for the conduct of flights. Thus, the leading aviation nations began to standardize
codes to guide aircraft production and operation. Various countries formulated their own rules.
The first generation aeronauts were particularly safety conscious. This informed the various
materials used in constructing the balloons and their different structures all in attempt to develop
what could withstand adverse weather conditions, thereby promoting safety. Aircraft accident is
an unlikely and preventable occurrence that leads to loss of financial, material and human
resources, for example in the September 2001 U.S. plane hijack 2,000 lives of people of different
nationalities were terminated in a single day. In Nigeria the three main air disasters in 2005
claimed 226 lives among them was the Postmaster General of the Federation Alhaji Abubakar
Argungu. The helicopter crash in Mexico in September 2005 claimed lives. In Indonesia the plane
crash in September 2005 cleared 140 souls. The Iranians military transport plane crash in Tehran
in December 2005 killed 110 people. In America the plane crash in December 2005 in Bahamas
killed 20 people. These were mainly the manpower and workforce of the nations besides the
aircraft which cost a lot to acquire were destroyed.
However, the need to adhere to varied forms of codes; rules and regulations developed by
different states soon became an impediment to the growth and orderly operation of international
air transport. There was an apparent and urgent need for global standardization. The successful
attempt at evolving a comprehensive international regulation of civil aviation dates back to 1944,
when an international conference in Chicago, U.S.A. adopted certain decisions aimed at fostering
the development of international air transport in an orderly and safe manner.
The research effort will focus on the entities involved in air travel and their respective
duties as apportioned by law in ensuring flight safety (flight safety as a collective responsibility).
It will also discuss the adverse effect of air disaster both on individuals and the economy
as well as stress the importance of flight safety in the enhancement of economic development.
Besides, the thesis intends to contribute to the topical discourse on flight safety, which
has generated much discussion in recent times, by looking at flight safety from legal perspectives.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL AHMADU
BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF
Keywords
ROLE,, LAW,, PROMOTING,, GENERAL,, SAFETY,, FLIGHT,, INTERNATIONAL, LAW