On World’s Pilot Day, commemorated globally on April 26, a pilot of Cross River origin, has taken to his Facebook page to pour encomiums and show appreciation to former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, for helping him realise his ambition of becoming an internationally recognised commercial pilot.
Remi Etta, wrote: “I just completed and passed my Bi Annual Recurrent Training a few minutes ago. As I was signed out , my heart as always goes out to my mentor, I would forever remain unrepentantly grateful to THE MAN, H.E DONALD DUKE.”
“He had the option of ignoring me. Looking at my name you won’t even realise I am a citizen of his state. I was not a member of any (political) party, we are not related, but he saw potential in me, devoid of any sentiments, party affiliations, family ties or ethnicity. He honoured my request, gave me a net & taught me the art of fishing, not just a meal of fish.”
He went on to write that, “…today the world celebrates WORLD PILOT DAY, to me it’s World DONALD DUKE DAY . Forever grateful to the man who made me today to be CAPT. REMI ETTA, with thousands of jet (flying) hours. God bless THE MAN DD.”
When Etta spoke exclusively with www.calitown.com, he informed us that his “training commenced in October 2006 in Learn to Fly Academy, Lanseria Airport, South Africa. Training was going on course until a week’s interruption at the end of October 2006 as I was grieving over the loss of my colleagues in the ADC Air Crash of Oct 30 2006. I received my Private Pilots licence, PPL, on the 22nd of December 2006.
“After the Christmas holidays, I commenced my Night Rating on the 4th or January 2007 and got it in 10 days, subsequently moving to FLIGHT TRAINING SERVICES, FTS, at the Grand Central Airport in Midrand Johannesburg, SA.”
He obtained his Instrument Rating, IR, Multi Engine Rating, ME, and Commercial Pilot Licence, CPL, in March 2008, before returning to Nigeria to write the exams and convert to the Nigerian Licence. Back he went to South Africa in April 2008, to do his Ground School and obtain a Frozen Airline Transport Pilots Licence, ATPL. In June 2008, he returned again to Nigeria to await the process of issuance of his Nigerian licence, a very analog process that dragged till September 19, 2008.
“The same day I got my license, I got a job with the defunct DANA Air before joining Arik Air, becoming an instructor, teaching Air Law, and developing in the process, the Air Law manuals and training for DANA AIR. The Arik Air job commenced in January 2009 as a First Officer on The Boeing 737. I was given an MCC, Multi Crew Cooperation Certificate from Oxford Aviation Academy in Kidlington UK and then to Boeing in Palma Mallorca, Spain for My Type Rating on the B737NG.”
“I rose from First Officer to Senior First Officer and then to Full Command, becoming a B737 NG Captain in August 2015.”
“I left Arik after eight years in 2017, when AMCON took over, to go to Airpeace, by then I had 5500hrs Jet Time in my kitty. Getting to Air Peace, I functioned only as a line Captain with no training roles, started from the Boeing 737 Classic and moved to the Embraer 195 -E2. It is worthy of note that I was the first Black Captain /Pilot in the world to complete and check out on a Type Rating Course for the Embraer 195-E2, that was March 2020 ,then COVID kept us at home. I flew the E2 from August 2020 to October 2022 when I was moved to the Boeing 777, which I have been flying for the past three years.”
“I will forever remain grateful to THE MAN, DONALD DUKE, for helping me walk this remarkable career path. God will bless and keep him”, he concluded.
I was reading to hear how HE. Donald Duke helped him to attain his dreams, but he never said anything it. Why so? We need to know so that we can appreciate the man too