BY LOUIS IBAH
Families of victims killed in the Dana Air crash of 2012 may soon get to know the cause of the accident that claimed the live of their love ones as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) on Friday said it had eventually concluded investigations into the crash. In the last four years, the AIB had been investigating the crash of Dana Airlines MD 83 aircraft with registration 5N-RAM, which occurred at Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos State, Nigeria on June 3, 2012.
AIB’s spokesman, Mr Tunji Oketunbi on Friday, issued an Interim Statement on the Investigation as part of activities marking the fourth anniversary of the unfortunate incident.
Giving an update on the investigation into the accident, which claimed 153 lives, the Bureau stated that the final reports of the investigation will be released to the public very soon pending the harmonisation of other stakeholders views.
“The draft Final Report was sent to relevant stakeholders for comments and suggestions as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 chapter 6.3,” said Oketunbi.
“Efforts at resolving and harmonising the issues raised by the stakeholders’ comments and suggestions have however delayed the release of the report,” he added.
The Bureau’s in the Interim Statement explained:”The issues raised by the Stakeholders, which required further scientific testing have almost completely been addressed and the Final Report will be made public very soon.”
On the 3rd of June 2012 at about 1545hours a Boeing MD 83 aircraft, 5N- RAM operated by Dana Airlines on scheduled domestic flight crashed into Iju-Ishaga, a densely populated area on the outskirts of Lagos, following a loss of power on both engines while on Approach to Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Nigeria.
All of the 153 persons on board the aircraft including 6 crew members were fatally injured. There were also 6 confirmed ground fatalities.
Accident Investigation Bureau, with cooperation from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States of America (USA) and other stakeholders has been working relentlessly to determine the cause of the accident.
