Chinelo Obogo
Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Nigeria has released the preliminary reports on the incidents involving three aircraft, two B737-300s with tail number 5N-BUK and 5N-BQO and a B737-500 with registration 5N-BRN owned and operated by Air Peace and has issued safety recommendations.
The bureau has issued six safety recommendations for immediate implementation by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and all operators especially with regards Standard Operational Procedures (SOP).
The reports released by AIB included the incident involving Air Peace B737-300 aircraft with registration marks 5N-BUK at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on May 15, 2019.
According to the initial findings, the flight crew were certified and qualified to conduct the flight in accordance with applicable regulations and the aircraft landed on runway 18Rat 19:34 h.
The aircraft was taxied to the apron and the passengers disembarked normally. The post-incident inspection of the aircraft showed damage to the aircraft structure and its second engine cowling. Also, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) recording of the occurrence was overwritten.
AIB also released the report on the incident involving the airline’s B737-500 aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BRN at Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt on June 22, 2019.
Also released is the report on the incident involving the airline’s B737-300 aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BQO at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on July 23, 2019.
The preliminary reports are not the final reports as they contain details of the initial facts, discussions and findings surrounding the occurrences; which include information gathered from witness statements, flight recorders, Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Data, Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) data, and preliminary inspection of the accident sites and the wreckages.
The bureau said investigations on these incidents are still ongoing and final reports will be released at the conclusion of these investigations.