Please no speculation on Helicopter crash, AIB tells public
AIB, however, said that the preliminary report of the accident would be released to the public in the next few weeks.Speaking at the AIB’s Lagos office at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos on Tuesday, Engr. Akin Olateru, the Commissioner of AIB, vowed that the agency would carry out a thorough job to unravel the cause of the accident, which claimed all three lives onboard.
Recalled that the Bell Helicopter 206-B III with the Serial Number 3216, Engine Model Allison 250–C20B with the registration number: 5N-BQW operated by Quorum Aviation, had crashed at Opebi, Ikeja area of Lagos on Friday August 28, 2020, barely one minute to landing at the Lagos airport. The helicopter had departed Port Harcourt Military Airport for the EAN Hangar at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
It was the first crash with fatalities that the country would record in the past five years, but Olateru exuded confidence that Nigeria remained one of the safest airspace in the world.
Olateru in his speech, stated that the helicopter started its engine at 09:15hrs and at 09:20hrs, lifted off from the airport for Lagos. According to Olateru, at 11:45hrs, the aircraft established contact with Lagos Tower, reporting maintaining 1000ft and estimating the station at 12:18hrs. He stated that in the ensuing communication, the pilot was advised of station weather by the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC).
AIB said that at 12:10hrs, the pilot reported sighting the airfield and was instructed by ATC to report downwind for runway 18Left, but at 12:16hrs, the ATC tried unsuccessfully to establish contact with the aircraft. He added: “At 12:36hrs, ATC was informed of the crash of the helicopter by MMF02, a MMIA fire station. At the crash site, two bodies were recovered. A third occupant was evacuated but died later in the hospital.
“The aircraft wreckage was also recovered and now in the custody of the Bureau. We have been receiving cooperation from Quorum Aviation Ltd, the owners and operator of the ill-fated aircraft.” He clarified that AIB was did not retrieve an FDR from the aircraft as the Bell 206 aircraft was certified at approximately 1,519kg (3,350lbs) and featured five seats, which did not require an FDR. He noted that the standard requirement for an FDR in any aircraft was 10 seats.
Olateru insisted that the aviation industry was the most regulated globally in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), adding that the installation and application of FDRs in aircraft was guided by ICAO Annex 6, Parts 1 and 2.
Olateru agreed that an FDR on the aircraft would have aided the investigation but, declared that the absence of this would not stop its investigators from retrieving information about a crash from the wreckage and several other components of the aircraft, the site of the crash, communication with the ATC, and other documents on the aircraft and the crew.
“From evidence gathered till date, the helicopter has a valid Certificate of Airworthiness (C of A) till October 29, 2020 and Quorum Aviation has a valid Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) that will expire November 20,2020. As a point to note, accident investigation is in phases and all procedures are performed in accordance with the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2019 and the guidance of ICAO Annex 13. At this instance and in line with the phases of accident investigation processes, we are at the stage of evidence gathering. All relevant stakeholders have been notified including the aircraft and engine manufacturers,” he added.
