By Louis Ibah
The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) yesterday released the final report on four air accidents that occurred in the country’s airspace in recent years, blaming errors on the part of the operating pilots and engineers as the major causes of the accidents.
The four accidents involved aircraft belonging to Aero Contractors Airline; the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria; Gitto Construction Company Helicopters; and the International Aviation College (IAC), Ilorin. The Aero Contractors accident involved a Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration 5N-BLE which occurred at FL330 en route Kaduna Airport. Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Ltd., Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Socata TBM 850 aircraft with registration 5N-BZA, which occurred near Kaduna Airport, Kaduna, Nigeria, on May 21, 2013.
The third report was the accident involving Gitto Construczioni Generali Nigeria Limited Bell 407 helicopter with registration 5N-BIC at Uyo Airport, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, on October 21, 2009, while the fourth report involved the International Aviation College (IAC) Diamond DA42 Aircraft with registration 5N-BNH, on Runway 23 of Ilorin International Airport, which occurred on August 18, 2014.
Commissioner/CEO of AIB, Mr. Akin Olateru, who briefed aviation journalists at the agency’s headquarters in Lagos said investigations by a team of experts from AIB linked the four mishaps to errors on the part of the pilots.
Olateru said AIB had released 10 out of backlog of 27 air accident investigations pending in the country. He, however, said air accident rate has dropped in the country since 2006 when AIB was established. Official statistics made available to Daily Sun from the AIB boss suggest that in the last 15 years, pilot-error related accidents might have caused the Nigerian industry about $500 million including cost of damaged or destroyed aircraft as well as insurance compensation to families of dead persons involved in such air crashes.