All Posts in "Day: November 26, 2020"

Nigeria Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, yesterday released three final accident and serious incident reports and two Safety Bulletins.

The Bureau also issued 16 Safety Recommendations that can help in preventing similar accidents or serious incidents from reoccurring in the future.

The Bureau released reports on the serious incident involving a Gulfstream G-IV aircraft owned and operated by Skybird Air Ltd with registration marks 5N-BOD which occurred at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on 12th September, 2018.

It also released the final report on the Serious Incident involving a Boeing 747-200 aircraft owned and operated by Kabo Air Ltd with nationality and registration marks 5N-JRM which occurred at Sultan Abubakar Airport, Sokoto (DNSO), Sokoto State on 4th October, 2013.

AIB also released the report on the Serious Incident involving a B737-500 aircraft owned and operated by Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Ltd with nationality and registration marks 5N-BLG, which occurred on Runway 18R, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on 9th April, 2016.

On the Gulf stream accident , the report said the causal factor was the “delayed response by the crew to recognize that the ground spoilers and thrust reversers were locked out led to the runway overrun”.

It further said the contributory factor was “the delayed deployment of ground spoilers which led to the flight crew’s problems in stopping the airplane within the remaining available runway length.

AIB also recommended that SkyBird Air Limited should ensure that all their cabin crew are adequately and properly type rated on specific aircraft to be flown by a cabin crew member in accordance with the Operations Manual.

It sdded that “SkyBird Air Limited should ensure that all flight release documents are duly signed by the commander of the flight before departure and appropriate copies kept on board the flight”.

“Inappropriate visual approach profile at night with no vertical guidance” was the causal factor of the Kabo Air aircraft crash according to the released bureau report. It also said the contributory factors are the “Unserviceable Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) on Runway 26 and the Decision to land on the non-precision runway 26 at night”

For the Aero Contractors aircraft crash, the Bureau said the causal factor is the “Excessive rudder application by the crew after touchdown”. It also said the contributory factors are; “Reduced visibility due to heavy rain on touchdown and the decision to continue approach in an unfavourable weather condition with crosswind component of 090˚ /15kt”.

Three Safety Recommendations were made to avoid future occurrence. They are : “ Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Limited should lay more emphasis during flight crew simulator trainings, on the effects of excessive rudder application at high speeds during landing roll, particularly on wet/contaminated runways. Secondly, “ Aero Contractors’ management should sensitise their crew members on the necessity of reporting notifiable occurrences”, amongst others.

Patoma Admin by — November 26, 2020 in Aviation 0

Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance Group AG is in advanced talks to acquire MetLife Inc.’s U.S. property and casualty (P&C) car and home insurance unit for close to $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Zurich Insurance issued a statement late on Friday confirming it was in discussions to acquire MetLife’s U.S. property and casualty business and cautioning that no deal was certain. It did not comment on the value of the deal.

The deal, executed through its Farmers Group Inc subsidiary, would expand Zurich Insurance’s P&C business, as the industry grapples with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove up claims for business interruptions and event cancellations.

It would also allow MetLife to exit a business in which it faces fierce competition from larger players such as State Farm, GEICO and Progressive Insurance.

Its P&C business focuses more on car insurance, an area in which people have made fewer claims due to spending less time on the road during the pandemic.

If the negotiations conclude successfully, a deal could be announced by early December, the sources said.

MetLife, whose offerings also include life insurance, employee benefits and asset management, earlier this month reported a 68% drop in third-quarter adjusted earnings at its U.S. property and casualty division, to $18 million.

The decline was driven by catastrophe losses caused by storms in the United States, it said.

The New York-based company’s chief executive, Michel Khalaf, said during its latest quarterly earnings call that the P&C business had “an important strategic connection” to the rest of MetLife, but declined to comment on whether he would sell it.

MetLife has been turning to deal-making to move into more profitable areas.

It said in September it would buy vision-care benefits company Versant Health for $1.68 billion, which would make it the third-largest vision insurer in the United States by membership, and announced in December it would enter the pet insurance market by acquiring PetFirst Healthcare.

Zurich Insurance’s U.S. footprint currently includes Farmers Group, an administrator of insurance policies for Farmers Insurance. Zurich Insurance acquired Farmers Group in 1998, while Farmers Insurance is owned by its policyholders.

Farmers Insurance was the fifth- and seventh-largest provider of home and auto insurance, respectively, in the United States in 2019, according to data provider S&P Global Market Intelligence. MetLife was 14th and 18th, respectively.

Patoma Admin by — November 26, 2020 in Insurance 0

Aviva Plc is selling its stake in its Italian life insurance joint venture for about 400 million euros ($475 million) as Chief Executive Officer Amanda Blanc continues her revamp of the firm.

The insurer will sell its 80% holding in Aviva Vita to its partner UBI Banca, according to a statement Monday. The sale leaves Aviva with three insurance businesses in Italy, which are all currently being assessed to “maximize shareholder value,” the company said.

Blanc announced in August that Aviva would focus on its operations in the U.K., Ireland and Canada, signaling that underperforming units in other countries could be disposed of. The company sold control of its Singapore business in September and is also pursuing a sale of its French unit.

“The sale of Aviva Vita is another important step forward as we reshape our portfolio,” Blanc said in the statement. “We will continue to be decisive as we seek to transform Aviva for the benefit of our shareholders.”

The deal adds to a flurry of recent insurance activity, topped by last week’s $9.6 billion takeover of RSA Insurance Group Plc in the biggest acquisition of a U.K.-listed company this year. On Friday, Zurich Insurance Group AG revealed it’s in talks to buy MetLife Inc.’s U.S. property and casualty unit.

Insurers are seeking to gain scale as they grapple with the impact of low interest rates and the coronavirus pandemic. Industry deals have been on a tear this year, with transactions totaling $78.5 billion announced so far, up 85% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Patoma Admin by — November 26, 2020 in Insurance 0