Four additional incidents and accidents reports were released Wednesday, by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) with 12 safety recommendations.
Four additional incidents and accidents reports were released Wednesday, by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) with 12 safety recommendations.
This is as the accident investigators promised to release the 17 other incidents and accidents reports in 2018, saying that at least, six of such reports would be sent to necessary stakeholders for 60 days review before the end of this year.
Before now, AIB had reported 10 accident reports and a bulletin between March and August 2017.
The reports were released today by the Commissioner of AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru at the agency’s office at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
On the assumption of office in January, Olateru had promised to release at least 10 accident reports that had been lying fallow on the shelf of the investigators since its creation in 2006.
The accidents and serious incidents released today occurred between 2009 and 2015 in various stations across the country.
Among the reports released was that of the Boeing 737-500 aircraft with the registration number 5N-BLE belonging to Aero Contractors and a trainee aircraft of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria with the registration number 5N-BZA.
Others were Gitto Construczioni Generalli Bell Helicopter, 5N-BLC, and Diamond 42 aircraft of the International Aviation College (IAC) with the registration number 5N-BNH. The aircraft before the serious incident had 108 passengers and five crewmembers onboard.
The Aero Contractors serious incident, which occurred on June 5, 2015, was revealed to the agency through media reports.
He said: “AIB was not officially notified of the incident, but we came to know of the serious incident through the reports in the media. On 5th June 2015, Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Ltd. scheduled commercial flight NIG181, a Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration number 5N-BLE from Lagos to Kaduna, took off at 1828hrs with 108 passengers and five crew on board. The First Officer was the pilot flying. The flight operated on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)."
“The Air Traffic Control (ATC) cleared the aircraft for take-off and to climb and maintain Flight Level (FL) 350. Normal cabin rate of climb (300ft/min) was observed during the initial climb. During climb at approximately 23 minutes, the cabin altitude warning horn sounded and the cabin altitude warning light came on.”
On the NCAT trainee aircraft, which occurred on May 21, 2013, Olateru explained that the bureau was only informed of the incident almost a month later, June 16, 2013.
He explained that on hearing of the incident, investigators were dispatched to carry out a preliminary investigation on the occurrence.
He declared that the incident occurred at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) as the trainee aircraft departed the airport to Zaria aerodrome with two persons on-board; pilot and observer.
Olateru also reeled out the accident involving Gitto Construczioni Generali Nigeria Limited Bell 407 helicopter with registration 5N-BIC at Uyo Airport, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria on October 21, 2009.
He said AIB was notified by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of the accident, the next day at about 1200 hours.
According to the report, the helicopter had departed Calabar to Port Harcourt at about 1230hrs on a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) positioning flight with the pilot and an engineer on board.
According to the pilot, a few minutes after departing Calabar for Port Harcourt, the transmission chip detector indication was noticed at a location close to Gitto Uyo State.
