Air Law, NCAA Regulations and Dangerous Goods
Air Law
Core concepts
Air law questions test conventions and who has jurisdiction. Start with the Chicago Convention 1944: Article 1 confirms complete and exclusive sovereignty of each state over its airspace, and ICAO administers the Annexes. Learn the first five freedoms of the air: overfly, technical stop, discharge of traffic, uplift of traffic, and carriage between two foreign states on a service starting or ending in the home state.
Know the offences conventions. Tokyo 1963 deals with offences and certain other acts committed on board, and gives the aircraft commander powers to restrain and to deliver an offender to authorities. The Hague 1970 addresses unlawful seizure of aircraft (hijacking). Montreal 1971 addresses unlawful acts against the safety of civil aviation, such as sabotage. The Warsaw 1929 and Montreal 1999 conventions govern carrier liability to passengers and shippers.
Know the domestic frame: the Civil Aviation Act establishes the NCAA as regulator, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations set out licensing and operational requirements. Understand that the state of registry and the state of landing may both claim jurisdiction, and that the pilot-in-command has final authority over the aircraft.
Traps
Distractors mix Tokyo, Hague and Montreal 1971. Tokyo is not the hijacking convention, and Montreal 1971 is not the Montreal Convention 1999 on liability. 'The captain decides everything' ignores the regulator and the state of landing.
Rule of thumb
Freedoms in order: overfly, technical stop, set down, pick up, carry between two foreign states.
NCAA Regulations and Dangerous Goods
Core concepts
This domain covers the regulator and the dangerous goods regime. Know the NCAA's functions: personnel licensing including cabin crew certification, medical fitness, air operator certification and continuing oversight, occurrence reporting, and enforcement. Know that cabin crew hold a valid certificate and medical, complete initial and recurrent training at the intervals the Authority sets, and are subject to drug and alcohol testing and mandatory occurrence reporting.
For dangerous goods, the pyramid is ICAO Annex 18, the ICAO Technical Instructions, and the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations used in daily operations. Learn the nine hazard classes (explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidisers and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances, radioactive material, corrosives, and miscellaneous). Understand hidden dangerous goods, the shipper's declaration, the NOTOC, and the rule that cabin crew never accept a package for carriage.
Know the passenger provisions that generate questions: spare lithium batteries must travel in the cabin, not checked baggage, with watt-hour limits and operator approval above the standard threshold; electronic cigarettes are cabin baggage only and must not be used or recharged on board; leaking or damaged batteries need a spill procedure and notification to the flight deck.
Traps
Distractors move spare lithium batteries into checked baggage, or let a passenger hand a parcel to crew 'just for the flight'. There is no such thing as a harmless leak - treat it as a dangerous goods incident and report it.
Rule of thumb
When in doubt, do not accept it: check the DGR, refer to the flight deck, and record the incident.