Lagos plane crash: Investigators quiz pilots

Investigators from the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have commenced investigation to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the crash of a light aircraft in Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday. The light trainee aircraft, Jabiru J430, crashed around the ever-busy Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja, Lagos near the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA). The turbo […]

Investigators from the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have commenced investigation to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the crash of a light aircraft in Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.

The light trainee aircraft, Jabiru J430, crashed around the ever-busy Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja, Lagos near the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA).

The turbo crop aircraft with registration number: 5N CCQ was embarking on a test flight within Lagos when it crashed and burst into flames.

However, the two occupants onboard survived the crash but they were critically injured.

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The aircraft was said to have departed the MMIA, Lagos when it developed a fault just a few minutes after takeoff and descended to as low as 1,500ft.

A review of the relative position of the runway at MMIA and the AP station on Oba Akran indicates an unusual flight to the final pattern, which suggested a possible emergency landing but the aircraft snagged a pole in loss of control to a crash and fire.

But the NSIB, the body empowered to investigate air, maritime, rail and any other maritime accident said the aircraft was operated by Air First Hospitality & Tours.

Director-General of the bureau, Engr. Akin Olateru who shed light on the accident in an interview monitored on Arise TV said the two souls on board were both qualified pilots flying the aircraft which is barely a year old in Nigeria.

Olateru who confirmed that the two pilots were responding to treatment said the bureau’s investigators would quiz them to obtain firsthand information on what might have happened.

He said it was a thing of joy that they survived the crash because the aircraft was not fitted with a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) or Flight Data Recorders (FDR) otherwise known as black boxes that would have aided in its investigation.

Olateru stated that the bureau would be looking into different probable causes as it is on the evidence gathering stage.