If Nigerian aircraft seats are being patched, how would the engines be?
More revelations have emerged on why the African Development Bank (AfDB), at the recent World Aviation Forum (WAF) in Abuja, said that Africa and mainly Nigerian skies are the riskiest to fly in the world.
As the endless wait on the Minister of State, Captain Hadi Serika to respond to AfDB comments, a recent flyer of one of the Nigerian leading airlines, (name with held), took a shot on the level of poor maintenance culture in the nation’s aviation industry.
The photo reveals that several seat tables, designed for use in-flight for passengers are in bad shape and badly maintained.
An Industry pundit, Tomi Adeolu, who reviewed the photo, said “From the state of the seats, it means that the maintenance culture of local airlines is a suspect and it also shows that the aviation gatekeepers, especially the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), are not alive to their duties”.
“If seats which are open to the human eyes in the aircraft can be in such sorry state, one begins to wonder the true states of the aircraft engines and the totality of safety apparatus in all local airlines.
In an interview, a public affairs analyst, Goddy Odidi, said “The aviation industry has witnessed several lost of lives and property worth billions have been abruptly destroyed. Transportation by air is one of the risky challenges that have directly affected the Nigerian economy negatively over the years”.
“Those who are not capable to run airlines should be banned out of business. The aircraft need regular maintenance before its daily take off and landing. Security agencies and the National Assembly must work with Jonathan to counter Aviation terrorism attacks. From 1969 to date, a total of 2021 people have lost their precious lives and property to air mishaps. It is time for the government to wake up from slumber to fix the Aviation industry now not investigation or probe after mishap.
Odidi averred that “Our so-called airlines operators are not ready to invest on trained pilots and engineers that would oversee all the faulty of the planes. It has been a recurring decimal of plane crashes.
Though all the airlines operating in the country have genuine licenses, but they use old and poorly maintained aircrafts to convey their passengers to different destinations in the country”.
History of air crashes in Nigeria
On November 20, 1969, Nigeria Airways BAC VC 10 crashes on landing killing 87 on board and January 22 1975, Royal Jordanian Airlines flight 707 carrying 171 Nigerian Muslims returning from Mecca and 5 crew men died in crash in Kano, Nigeria.
Business Hilights recalls that on march 1,1978: Nigeria Airways F28- 1000 crashes in Kano killing 16, November 28, 1983: Nigeria Airways F28- 1000 crashes on approach i Enugu killing 53on board. December 1988: Skypower Brandeironate aircraft overshot illorin Airport runway all the passengers died. On 26 June 1990, Okada Air BAC -111: Sokoto , Nigeria fuel starvation during holding pattern over Sokoto due to heavy rain. Flight from Benin city diverted from Kano due to heavy rain. None of the three crew members and three of the 52 passengers sustained fatal injuries.
February 24, 1991: British Helicopter crashed in Eket, Akwa Ibom state, killing all nine people on board. May 21, 1991: A Cessna citation 550 of Ashaka cement, Hombe, crashed killing all on board. June 26, 1991: An Okada air BA-111 crashed in Sokoto three people died. July 11,1991;Nigeria Airways DC -8-61 crashes in Jeddah audi Arabia from system failure killing 261 on board.
September 26, 1992: Nigerian Air force AC-130 plane crashes minutes after take-off from Lagos, All 200 o board were killed. June 24, 1995: Harka Air services Tupoleo 34 crashes on landing in Lagos killing 16.
Again , November 13, 1995: Nigeria Airways Boeing 737-2F9 crashes on landing in Kaduna killing 9. January 17, 1996: Ibrahim Abacha , son of Sani Abacha was killed in a plane crash. Thegroup United front for Nigeria’s liberation(UFNL) claimed responsibility for the crash.
November 7 , 1996: A Nigerian ADC ( Aviation Development Corporation) Airline Boeing 727-231 flying from Port Harcourt to Lagos with 142 passengers and 9 crew members crashed on landing, plunging into a Lagoon will allon board killed.January 31, 1997, Skypower Express Airways Embrear 110I A crashes on landing in Yola killing 5.
September 12, 1997: A NAF Dornier 228-212 in Nguru , Bornu state ran into a ditch during the take off, none of the 10 people died. January 5, 2000 Skypower Express Airways Bandeirante 110IA crashes on landing in Abuja killing 17. October 26, Dornier aircraft plunged into a thick brush near, the Niger Delta, 6 occupants injured. May 4,2002: EAS Airlines BAC 1-11 500 with 105 people on board crashed and burst into planes in a poor densely populated suburb of Kano, 76 on board killed., including 72 on the ground bringing it to a total 148 dead.
On November 30, 2003: a cargo aircraft of Hydro cargo Brussets, Belgium, crash landed, March 6,2004: An aenail spray aircraft with registration number 5NBEF belonging to BArfreex Nigeria limited, crashed at Bauchi Airport.
July 26,2004: Pan African Airlines helicopter crashed into the Atlantic ocean in Eacravos, Delta state, 4 people on board died, December 29,2004: A Kenya Airlines aircraft crashed landed at the MMA due to gear fault.
January 28, 2005: ADC ‘s B73 aircraft had its tyre burnt while landing at Yola airport.
March 27,2005:A Boeing 737 of Beliview had one of its engines caught fire.
June 11 and 12,2005: Lagos a Boeing 727-200 aircraft belonging to the domestic Chachangi Airlines overshot the runway at Muritala Muhammed Airport, While yet another overshot thier runway at airport in Jos in central Nigeria a day earlier. June 24, 2005:
A Russian airport belonging to Harka Air crash -landed at the MMA, all the people on board died,. July 6,2005: Port Harcourt : an Air France A330 plane crashed into a hard cattle at Port Harcourt airport sustaining serious damage and killing many of the cows. The airport had no perimeter fence and herdsmen usually take their cattle across the tarmac, sometimes abandoning them there.
On July 23,2005: a Lufthansa aircraft crash-landed at Lagos airport and was badly damaged, but no life was lost.October 22, 2005: A Beliview airlines Boeing 737 airliner with 117 people on board crashes and disintegrates in flames shortly after take -off from Lagos, all on board killed.
December 10, 2005: A Soliso Airlines DC-9 crashes in Port Harcourt, killing all 103 on board. Most on board where school children going home for Christmas,
September 17, 2006: A 18-Seater Dornier 228 Air for transport plane , carrying 15 senior army officers and three crew members crashed leaving only three survivors that sustained serious injuries.
The plane with registration number 228-212 crashed in the northern part of the country at Oko village in Vandeikya local government area of Benue state at about 10: 3am.
October 29, 2006: Aviation Development Corporation Airline Boeing 737 with 104 on board crashes minutes after take-off from Abuja ‘s airport during a rain storm, All but 6 perished in the disaster. The spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Sunni Muslims, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido was among the dead.
November 10, 2006 OAS service Helicopter crashed in Warri, Delta state killing 4 on board, August 2, 2007: Bristow -owned helicopter crashed inside Exxonmobil facility in Port Harcourt.
March 15, 2008: Beechcraft 1900 plane marked 5N-JAH, belonging to wing Aviation crashed in the mountainous forest of bush in Cross River state on its way to Obudu airstrip. The wreckage was not found until 6months after the suddenly disappearance of the aircraft, All 4 man crew on board died.
March 14,2012: a Helicopter belonging to the Joint Task force (JTF) crashes in Kabong, Jos killing all members on board including 4 senior police officers died.
On Saturday 2, 2012: DHV 111 cargo aircraft, Nigerian plane crashed in Accra Ghana killing 10, one female and nine males. Though the Nigerian plane crashed into a bus loaded with passengers on a nearby street in Elwak sports stadium.
Dana Air Flight 992, a McDonnell Dougles MD-83 aircraft making a shedule commercial passenger flight from Abuja to Lagos crashed on Sunday June 3, 2012 into a furniture work and printing press building in the Iju-Ishaga neighbourhood of Lagos. The crash and subsequent forced landing resulted in the death of all 153 passenger on board and ten more on ground. The aircraft was a twin-engine MD-83 registered in Nigeria as 5N-RAM.
The accident occurred after the crew reported engine trouble and declared and emergency 11 nautical miles (20km) from the airport. It crashed into a crowded neighbourhood near the airport, apparently landing on is tail and causing a large fire.
Talking about the latest crash in Nigeria, Business Hilights recalls that an aircraft operated by Nigeria’s Associated Airlines that has 20 persons on board is reported to have crashed Thursday, October, 2013, at about 09:00 hours in Lagos claiming the lives of 13 leaving others injured.
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