AIB releases report on Chanchangi accident 12 years after

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released final reports of four accidents and incidents while issuing nine safety recommendations aimed at deepening aviation safety and forestalling air accidents and incident. AIB Commissioner/CEO, Engr. Akin Olateru, who released the reports, said additional three final reports and two Safety Bulletins would be released to the public before […]

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released final reports of four accidents and incidents while issuing nine safety recommendations aimed at deepening aviation safety and forestalling air accidents and incident.

AIB Commissioner/CEO, Engr. Akin Olateru, who released the reports, said additional three final reports and two Safety Bulletins would be released to the public before the end of the year.

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The reports released on Tuesday included the Accident involving a Tampico TB-9 aircraft owned and operated by Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), which occurred at Zaria Aerodrome, Kaduna State on 26th September 2018, and the Accident involving a Boeing 737-282 aircraft owned and operated by Chanchangi Airlines Ltd which occurred at Port Harcourt International Airport on 14th July 2008.

Others were the Accident involving a Beechcraft C90 aircraft owned and operated by Shoreline Energy Intl Ltd, which occurred at Barakallahu Village near Old Kaduna (Military) Airport on 24th May 2011; and the accident involving a Boeing 747-200 Aircraft operated by Veteran Avia Airlines which occurred at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on 4th December 2013.

On the Chanchangi accident involving a 737-200 with registration 5N- BIG which occurred 14th July, 2008 in Port Harcourt, the AIB boss said no safety recommendation was issued because the areas of shortcomings identified in the investigation had since been captured in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulation (NigCAR).

On the accident involving the Tampico TB-9 aircraft operated by Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria, with nationality and registration marks 5N-CBJ, AIB blamed it on late decision to initiate a go-around after touchdown, which resulted in loss of directional control of the aircraft after landing.

The bureau stated that college should ensure that where there are gaps in student pilots’ training, Policies and Procedures should be put in place in the training programme, so that the students are brought up to speed in both theory and practice.

On the Beechcraft C90 aircraft with nationality and registration marks N364UZ, operated by Shoreline Energy International Limited (SEIL), the aircraft crashed on a farm-land and was engulfed in flames with the two occupants dead.

Olateru gave the causal factor as the “inability of the pilot to control the aircraft to landing due to inadequate power to enable the pilot maintain the appropriate approach profile (height, speed and glide path) to cover the required distance to threshold.”

In its safety recommendation, the bureau urged the NCAA to increase safety oversight on foreign registered general aviation aircraft operating in Nigerian airspace.

The last accident report was on 747-200 aircraft operated by Veteran Avia Airlines limited EK-74798 at the Abuja Airport, which caught fire while the six crew members safely evacuated through the Main Electronic service door behind the nose wheel.

It identified as contributory factors lack of briefing by the Saudi dispatcher during pre-flight, missing runway status, ineffective communication between crew and ATC, among others.