Chinelo Obogo
Bristow Helicopters has said they are cooperating with government authorities to investigate an incident that involved one of its aircraft on Friday, October 25.
The management of the company confirmed in a statement made available to Daily Sun that there was an incident involving one if its helicopters which was inbound to land at the Port Harcourt Air Force Base from an offshore location with 11 passengers on board. It said it followed established aircraft procedure to reduce the engine to idle power during the flight as a precautionary measure following a warning in the cockpit.
“On October 25, 2019 a Bristow crew followed established aircraft procedure (in line with Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority-approved Operations Manual Part B Checklist) to reduce an engine to idle power on an S-92 during flight as a precautionary measure following a warning in the cockpit,” the statement reads.
“The aircraft was inbound to land at the Port Harcourt Nigerian Air Force Base from an offshore location with 11 passengers on board. The incident occurred in the Port Harcourt Control Zone with approximately 4 nautical miles (nm) to land. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to the hangar without incident. Bristow is working with the respective authorities leading the investigation into the incident.”
Daily Sun reported yesterday that a Bristow aircraft operating an offshore flight developed engine failure before it landed at the Port Harcourt Airport on Friday, October 25. No life was lost and no passenger or crew member was injured as the aircraft landed safely.
Related: Disaster averted as Bristow helicopter experiences engine failure in Port Harcourt
The General Manager, Public Affairs of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Tunji Oketunbi, in a statement confirmed that there was a serious incident involving the aircraft but said the agency has commenced investigation.
“We dispatched our investigators to the site immediately. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) have been retrieved. It is a serious incident since they declared an emergency. We have commenced investigation,” Oketunbi said.