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Why Bellview, ADC, Sosoliso crashed – AIB

By on February 18, 2013

Bad weather conditions, faulty or poorly maintained aircrafts and the failure of pilots to adhere to safety instructions were key factors responsible for the various air crashes and accidents which rocked Nigeria in the very recent years, a new report by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has revealed.  The AID report covered air accidents involving Bellview Airlines Flight 210 that crashed in Lisa, Ogun State on October 22, 2005, killing all 117 passengers on board.

The reports include those involving Sosoliso in Port-Harcourt Airport in 2005 where over a hundred school children of the prestigious Loyola Jesuit College and a popular preacher, Bimbo Odukoya met their death. For the Sosoliso crash, the weather reports obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), and the one compiled from the Satellite Imagery by the Boeing Aircraft Company(USA), showed that there was a change in the wind speed and direction when the aircraft was approaching the station.

Other reports are AIB interim report on Beechcraft 1900D accident at Bushi Village in Obanlinku Local Government of Cross River State on March 15, 2008, report on the accident to Boeing 737 aircraft registered 5N-AUA that crashed at the new Kaduna Airport on November 13, 1995, the 2008 Nigeria Police Force’s Bell 412 helicopter and the September 7th accident involving DHL, Registration ZS-DPF, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and on the accident involving TAMPICO Club 9 Aircraft, Reg. 5N-CBF at Zaria, Kaduna State on October 10, 2006, among others.

While the Bellview crash was attributed to operations of unserviceable aircraft, excessive workload and fatigue of the captain, the Aviation Development Company (ADC) crash which claimed the lives of the sultan of Sokoto and 92 others in Tungar Madaki, Abuja, near the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport,was attributed to the pilot’s decision to take-off in known adverse weather conditions and failure to execute the proper wind shear recovery procedure which resulted in operating the aircraft outside the safe flight regime, causing the aircraft to stall very close to the ground from which recovery was not possible.

According to the report, the inability of the ADC flight crew to apply wind shear recovery procedures and the use of inappropriate equipment for wind shear recovery procedure during simulator recurrence and lack of company Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in adverse weather conditions were also causal factors. Detailing the history of the ill-fated ADC flight, the AIB report noted that the B737-200 aircraft night-stopped at Calabar on Saturday, October 28, 2006, departed for Lagos in the morning of October 29, 2006, and landed in Lagos at 08:25hours.

The absence of forensic evidence according to the report prevented the determination of the captain’s medical condition at the time of the accident. The report equally indicted the operator of the ill-fated airline for not maintaining the continuing airworthiness of its aircraft, in ensuring compliance of its flight and maintenance personnel with the regulatory requirements. The Civil Aviation Authority’s safety oversight of the operator’s procedures and operations was inadequate. Bellview flight 210 was on a scheduled passenger flight from Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos for Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The aircraft was operated on an Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) plan and departed MMA at 2035 hrs with 117 persons on board. “The controller tower observed the aircraft execute a right-hand turn and instructed the crew to contact Approach Control. The Control instructed the crew toreport passing FL130 (13,000feet) or when crossing LAG located at 6nm from the threshold 18L. The last contact with BLV210 by Approach Control was at 20: 36 hours,” the report concluded.

[TheSun]

One Comment

  1. dj3ple4

    February 18, 2013 at 2:40 pm

    wat is d essence of dis report wen no 1 wil be indicted and brought to book….forget niaja jooor….make God jus dey protect us