By Omotayo Edubi
Accident Investigation Bureau of Nigeria (AIB-N) has revealed that the cause of the aircrash involving Quorum Aviation’s Bell 206 helicopter, 5N- BQW which crashed at Opebi in Lagos State on August 2020 and claimed the lives of all individuals onboard was caused by inadequate fuel in the aircraft and the pilot wanting to get to destination when he noticed the fuel.
Speaking during the release of four accident reports in Abuja on Thursday, AIB-N Commissioner, Akin Olateru, said there was fuel exhaustion at low altitude and the low speed landing lead to loss of control in flight.
The report also stated that the decision of the pilot to continue the flight to the intended destination with insufficient fuel instead of landing as soon as practicable in line with section: 12.1.12 of Quorum Aviation limited operations manual Part A, contributed to the cause of crash.
The report also blamed lack of effective management supervision of the airline’s flight operations as well as inadequate safety oversight.
“The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure that air operator certificate holders who wish to combine flight duty with multiple post position, provide NCAA with comprehensive safety risk mitigation measures to ensure that safe operations can be achieved.
“Quorum Aviation must make sure that all its personnel are well acquainted with their respective schedules of responsibilities and are capable of discharging their duties effectively in line with their standard operating procedures,” Olateru said.
The newly released reports make a total of 72 accident reports released by the Bureau since its establishment in 2007 and a total of 53 reports released since the inception of this administration.
Other reports which were released included Sky Power Express with registration marks 5N- BTV which occurred near Abuja on October 4, 2018, serious incident involving Nigeria Police aircraft with registration 5N- MDA on August 3, 2019; another Skypower Express Cessna aircraft 5N- AP which happened in Niger State November 19, 2019.
The accident involving Skypower Express Airways Nigeria Limited Air Tractor AT-401B Aircraft with registration 5N-BTV was caused by an undetermined engine failure at low altitude that necessitated the execution of emergency forced-landing on a farmland. No safety recommendation was made
The serious incident involving Nigeria Police Airwing Bell 429 Helicopter with registration 5N-MDA was caused by the lack of communication to update the crew on the current serviceability status of the ground handling wheel prior to arrival at DNAA and the decision to hover-taxi to reposition the helicopter to the ramp without guidance.
While the serious incident involving Skypower Express Airways Nigeria Limited Cessna 172 Aircraft with registration 5N-APE was caused by the engine oil seal at the top of the push rod shifted, creating a clearance through which the oil escaped from the engine. This resulted to low oil quantity and high oil temperature indications and subsequently a drop in engine rpm.
The ground collision involving a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Truck with registration AKD765FK and Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Bell 412 Helicopter with registration NAF 600 was caused by the driver’s misjudgment of the clearance between the truck and the helicopter main rotor blades.