THERE are strong indications that the pilot of the ill-fated plane, an American, might have managed one engine of the two engines of the aircraft from Abuja en-route Lagos, having lost one engine a few minutes after take-off.The plane, with 153 passengers and six crewmembers, last Sunday, crashed at Iju-Ishaga, a suburb of Lagos, killing all on board, including undisclosed number of residents of the area.A senior official of the Ministry of Aviation, Technical Department, disclosed to The Guardian how the electronic display of the flight at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Control Tower was captured in the last 10 minutes that the plane was manaeuvring to land on approaching the local wing of the airport.He said the pilot initially did not show any sign of distress, as he kept confirming to the Air Traffic Controllers (ATS) that the flight was normal.The official said: 'There is no doubt that the plane lost one of its two engines soon after take off, but given his many years of experience, the pilot thought he could manage to complete the estimated 50-minute flight to Lagos. But if he had sent alert signal on take off, he could have been asked to return to base.'Still, he had another opportunity of reporting any fault to the Minna Airport but he did not; again, he flew by Ibadan Airport for possible emergency landing, had he reported any problem; he didn't.'It was when he entered the Lagos air space, within about 11 and 12 nautical miles, that he sent what can now be termed the first distress call ' May Day sign call.'The official said that, 'around Ibafo and Iju, he demanded clearance of the tarmac, specifically, Run Way 18 Right, meant for international flights, instead of 18 left and this was obliged him.''But apparently, the throttle and the gears all packed up at the same time, despite the fact the plane was almost gliding in for landing, as indicated in the radar,' he said.He added: 'All communications between the plane and the ATS went dead within a minute after the distressed call, though the radar was still capturing the quick descending of the aircraft at a rate not commiserate with normal landing practice.'The Control Tower had no option than to send signals to all emergency agencies, but before anything could be done, the plane had, on its auto, piloted itself, nose-diving into the residential buildings.'A PILOT engineer with defunct Nigeria Airways, Mr. Alex Ibire, in a chat, said cases of aircraft making more than 45-minute flights with only one engine had been recorded.'But such is only allowed if the pilot is sure that the other engines have no technical faults,' he said.'And in order to avoid this type of disaster, such is professionally discouraged with sanctions when noticed.'Even if that plane had made it, auditors would have later disciplined the pilot.'Mr. Lateef Lawal, Publisher of Nigerian Aviation News, who said he had been monitoring the plane, confirmed that the pilot's request for landing on a longer and broader lane was a clear indication that he was in danger.'But the time he (pilot) came close to disclosing the problem was not good enough for any help to come to him,' he said.He stated that what had been of concern to many passengers was more of poor treatment that they were being subjected to by some of the operators.He said a case that drew much attention some years ago was, how many of the airliners were allegedly risking the lives of their passengers by not obeying weather warnings, as released by the Meteorological Agency.'But nobody knew that such could lead to the material and psychological losses that the country has been subjected to,' he said.Lawal recalled that at a certain stage, stakeholders urged the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to urgently call to order the excesses of flight operators, stressing that Dana Air was among the five defaulting ones fingered by the public.He disclosed that the previous week, 'passengers on board its Lagos-Abuja flight virtually lost hope of coming out alive when, despite the fact that before the plane took-off from Lagos, the pilot himself told the passengers of the dangerous weather on the way to Abuja, characterised with lightning and thunder and stormy downpour.''Yet, the pilot risked flying into the dangerous horizon. A journey that ought not to take more than 55 minutes took about one hour 45 minutes. One can imagine the trauma suffered by the innocent passengers on board that flight,' he said.Lawal also revealed that late last month, on the Abuja-Lagos trip, despite obvious bad weather and heavy downpour, some pilots of some airlines played death game with people's lives on two separate flights from Abuja to Lagos.'Twice, each of the flights recorded missed approaches in Lagos. When the flights eventually landed, it was complaints galore with many passengers vowing not to fly the airlines again,' he said.It was gathered that a senior official in the industry recently warned some pilots on the danger of going against the stated rules governing flight operations in the country.The official reportedly had audience with the management of four airlines, two of were found most culpable.However, the management of DANA Air denied the airline was found wanting in obeying directive of the regulators.'If anything, we have been twice commended by both NCAA and passengers, for responding quickly to services and that is why our fights are always over booked,' said Miss Helen Uduak, the airline's Corporate Affairs Manager.The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), declined all comments on the DANA Air mishap, except to lament the loss one of the senior management staff of the agency.He said: 'If there is any organisation that has paid a supreme sacrifice in this sad incident, NAMA is one of them, because we lost Mr. Mecha Kalu, the Technical Adviser to our Managing Director, Engr. Mazi Nnamdi Udoh, who was billed to travel abroad last Monday for a course aimed at sustaining our operation.'There is going to be a proper investigation of the actual cause of the crash, as directed by Mr. President and coordinated by the Minster. As at today, we are all awaiting the report of the investigation before official statement is made.'MEANWHILE, Federal Government's setting up of a seven-man panel, headed by Group Captain John Obakpolor (rtd), to look into the state of the industry, appears not to have gone down well with some industry players, particularly members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).They are opposed to a part of government's terms of reference to the committee, to audit the domestic airlines and the fitness of their aircraft.The Secretary General of AON, Captain Mohammed Joji (rtd), has argued that the move violated international best practices in the industry.The Obakpolor Panel members are Group Captain John Obakpolor (rtd) Chairman, Captain Austin Omame, Captain A. Mshelia, Captain Mfon Udom, Captain Dele Sasegbon, Dr. O. B. Aliu,Fidelis Onyeyiri, Captain Muhtar Usman (Commissioner, Accident Investigation Bureau) and Dr. Anthony Anuforom (Director-General (NIMET).The committee's terms of reference are:' To thoroughly review the maintenance practices of DANA Air as well as all other domestic scheduled operators and assess their level of compliance with the Nigerian civil aviation regulations.' To assess the effectiveness or otherwise of the NCAA's oversight of the maintenance practices of domestic scheduled carriers and other regulatory aspects.' To examine the management practices and safety culture existing in DANA Air up to the time of the accident.' To examine the management practices and safety culture of all domestic scheduled carriers.' To make findings and bold recommendations to the Federal Government on all of the reference terms above with a view to significantly improving the safety of the Nigerian airspace.The panel has six weeks to submit its report.
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