The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released its statement on Dana Airlines MD 83 aircraft with registration 5N-RAM, which crashed at Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos state, Nigeria on 3rd June, 2012.
According to the AIB report, mechanical failure and pilot error caused the 2012 air crash in Nigeria that killed 159 people. The report further reveals that two engines on the doomed Dana Air flight from the capital, Abuja, failed mid-air before it crashed on approach to Lagos airport.
Investigators said “lack of situation awareness, inappropriate decision-making and poor airmanship” were also to blame for the crash on June 3, 2012.
The Dana Air crash was one of the worst accidents in Nigerian aviation history. The Boeing MD-83 aircraft was carrying 153 passengers and crew when it crashed into a densely-populated area in the north of Lagos and burst into flames.
Six people were killed on the ground. The long-running investigation involved officials from the airline, engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and international aviation experts.
Nigerian aviation authorities suspended Dana’s operating licence on June 5, 2012, two days after the crash. But it was briefly allowed to resume operation in January 2013 after meeting some safety standards but did not start full operations until the following January.
Dana Air was among the most popular carriers in Nigeria before the accident, with heavy traffic on its Abuja-Lagos route. AIB commissioner Akin Olateru told reporters the agency, which released a preliminary report on the crash in September 2012, spent so long on the investigation because of cash shortages.
He said the agency needed more funding, as the 16 million naira ($50,000, 47,000 euros) allocated in 2017 was not enough. Nigeria’s worst air accident was in 1973, when 176 people died in a crash involving a Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 flying from Jeddah to Kano.
Meanwhile, Dana Air has disclosed that the airline would review all the safety recommendations prescribed in the full report of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) that was made public on Monday.Mr Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline’s Communications Manager, stated this in a statement issued to newsmen in Lagos on Monday.
Ezenwa confirmed in the statement that the airline had acknowledged the full report of the bureau.
“The airline will continue to review the safety recommendations contained in the previous interim and this final reports that have been made public by the Accident Investigation Bureau. We are glad that the report confirmed that the aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure, flight crew were certified and that we have cleared all defects during their last check,” he said.
Ezenwa noted that the airline had swung into action immediately the Interim Safety Recommendations of the airline’s ill-fated crash were released in 2013.
“We wish to also state that Dana Air swung into action immediately the Interim Safety Recommendations were released in 2013.
“And as an airline which is strictly committed to the safety and comfort of its passengers, we have implemented all the recommendations same year, as released by AIB.
“We did not stop at just implementing the recommendations; we also successfully passed an operational audit conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s Flight Safety Group and its foreign partners.
“In 2016, after another rigorous operational audit, Dana Air was admitted into the IOSA register to underscore its strict adherence to global management and safety standards and procedures required of global carriers.
“Also went further to win two awards from two reputable organisations for the redefining role it played in the aviation industry same year,” he said.
Ezenwa explained that the airline had maintain a rich spare parts store to date, adding that it had doubled its maintenance and safety efforts with constant training and retraining of our crew and ground staff.
“This has led to our continuous provision of reliable air transport operation and a record 4.5 million passengers flown in the last eight years of our operation.
Ezenwa said the airline reassured passengers of its total commitment to their safety and comfort onboard flights.
“The safety and comfort of our guests remains a top priority to us and may the beautiful souls of the crew and guests we lost in the unfortunate accident continue to rest in peace- Amen.
“They remain forever in our hearts and our prayers and thoughts will continue to be with their friends and loved ones,” he added.
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