Nigeria lost 2,038 passengers to air crashes in 47 Years – AIB    – Newstrends
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Nigeria lost 2,038 passengers to air crashes in 47 Years – AIB   

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The Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N), yesterday hinted that a total of 2,038 (1996 on board passengers and 42 on ground) lives have been lost to air crashes in the country from1969 to 2022.

The agency noted that when an aircraft accident or serious incident occurs, it is always an unexpected and mostly fatal event that causes great distress and loss to the victims and their families.

The Commissioner/CEO, AIB-N, Mr. Akin Olateru, made the disclosure at a press briefing on the International Day for the Commemoration of Air Crash Victims and their Families in Abuja.

Akin, while welcoming the aviation stakeholders to the event said: “I offer my deepest sympathy to all the survivors and families of victims of past incidents. I am truly sorry for your losses, and I know that no one can ever adequately compensate you. I want to state unequivocally, that I consider the avoidable loss of life unacceptable.

“May the souls of your departed loved ones continue to rest in peace. We understand that the aftermath of an air incident can be devastating to survivors, crash victims and their families, all of whom require support and empathy.

“In 1998, during the 32nd Session of the Assembly, ICAO considered and acknowledged the subject of aircraft accident victims and their families.

“The aim was to ensure that the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of victims involved in civil aviation accidents, and their families, are considered and accommodated by ICAO and its Member States in accordance with ICAO’s policies and guidelines.”

He revealed that families of victims experience great anguish after an air crash, especially in the absence of effective information channels from the government, or the affected airline operator, to them.

 

“In 2001, ICAO issued the Guidance on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families. Subsequently, in 2013, the ICAO Policy on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families was published and accompanied by a manual and the family assistance entails the provision of services and information that will address the concerns and needs of the aircraft accident victims and their families.

 

“The ICAO’s Policy and Manual on the Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families is contained in Doc 9998 and Doc 9973, respectively. This detailed information on ICAO’s Family Assistance policies and guidelines are available online,” he said.

 

Decrease in accident rates has been recorded through several activities including investigations and their safety recommendations, voluntary safety reporting, safety cultures, and Safety Management Systems (SMS).

 

He added that poor safety management in aviation not only damages the aircraft involved, but could also cause the avoidable loss of human lives on-board the unfortunate aircraft and, sometimes, on ground.

 

“This is the reason that we, at AIB-N, are determined to continue to extend the frontiers of safety in the aviation sector, as well as in the other forms of transportation. We will achieve this by aligning ourselves with global best practice in the industry, and by employing the latest technology and the most qualified personnel, to thoroughly investigate past occurrences and make the appropriate recommendations to ensure that they never occur again,” he said.

Continuing, the AIB-N boss, said that “we will ensure that we continue to review and improve our systems processes and procedures to reduce casualties associated with any transportation incidents and provide the information and other support systems necessary to fulfill our mandate.

 

“With the advancement of technology, it is our aim to achieve even higher safety standards and ensure even fewer fatal incidents in future and I assure you that the industry regulators and relevant authorities are committed to offering significant support but even more so to preventing the recurrence of these incidents.”

 

Reacting to the current controversy over flight delays, the director general of NCAA, Captain Musah Nuhu, said that the National Assembly established a committee to look into the root cause of flight delays and cancellations, remarking that we may be reacting to the symptoms without looking at the main cause of the problem.

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Domestic airlines get one-week ultimatum to return N4bn support fund

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Domestic airlines get one-week ultimatum to return N4bn support fund

All private airlines that received N4 billion COVID-19 relief funds have been directed to refund the allocated money to the coffers of the Federal Government treasury, if they fail to give a convincing account of how the money was spent within seven days.

House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts gave the directive.

The committee chaired by Bamidele Salam (Osun-PDP) disclosed this  at the resumed investigative hearing on the alleged mismanagement of the COVID-19 intervention funds by the Ministries Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government and others.

The committee said despite appearing before it, many of the airlines and industry stakeholders, including Aero Contractors, Azman, Newrest, and representatives from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the allocation and expenditure of the funds.

The committee stressed the need for accountability and transparency in the utilization of public funds.

But Azman Airlines represented by its Marketing Manager, Odum Chizoba Uju, admitting receiving N367,935,779.95, said it was allocated for various operational expenses such as aircraft maintenance; spare parts, fueling, Forex purchasing, and insurance premium.

Also, Station Manager of Aero Contractor, Mr. Abdulmalik Musa, said the company received N217,345,542.05 from the government for the COVID-19 intervention fund.

The representative of the Aero said the fund was used for airport handling and facility payment, fueling payment, onboard catering payment, pilot training payments, and lease rental payments.

But a member of the committee and former pilot with the Nigeria Air Force, Hon. Ojuawo Adeniyi, from Ekiti State, faulted the submissions, saying that the services claimed by the operators were applicable only during the regular operations of airlines.

Following this development, a motion was moved by a member, Akiba Bassey,   that the amount involved should be refunded to the Federation Account in seven days if no convincing details of the spendings were provided.

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Just in: Air Peace crashes London flight fare to N1.2m

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Air Peace crashes London flight fare to N1.2m

Travellers on Air Peace London flight will pay N1.2 million and N4 million respectively for Economy and Business classes, with effect from March 30.

The airline announced this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Lagos by its Corporate Communications Lead, Mr Stanley Olisa.

Flight tickets for London in Nigeria are between N2.3 million and N4.2 million for economy and N6 million for business class.

Olisa said the flight schedules for Air Peace London route available on the airline’s website showed that it had crashed the price of its flight tickets.

“A return economy class ticket goes for N1.2 million, while a return business class ticket sells for N4 million.

“Nigerians studying in the United Kingdom can also now access their special 15 per cent rebate on the already reduced economy fares.”

The airline had announced a special fare for Nigerian students in the UK when it hosted travel agents in Lagos in preparation for the launch of the London route.

Olisa also said London would be the airline’s seventh international destination since kicking off operations about 10 years ago.

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Unbelievable: Court had declared Wigwe’s chopper model unsafe for flights, after many crashes – Investigation

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Unbelievable: Court had declared Wigwe’s chopper model unsafe for flights, after many crashes – Investigation

 

A new investigation has revealed that Eurocopter EC 130B4, the aircraft model that Friday crashed and claimed the lives of Herbert Wigwe, Access Holdings CEO, his wife, son and three others, recorded five crashes last year alone.

A report of an investigation released on Monday by FIJ stated that a Nevada judge concurred with the position of relations of a crash victim that the aircraft model was unsafe for air travel as it did not have a crash-resistant fuel system, which was why it regularly burst into flames upon crashing.

It also reported that a similar crash occurred on December 1, 2023, involving the same Eurocopter EC 130B4, which struck power cables during takeoff and crashed into a ball of flames near Ex Hacienda el Hospital, Cuautla, Morelos in Mexico.

Three people died in the accident.

It was the last of 11 crashes involving Airbus models in 2023.

A total of 100 crashes involving the aircraft and previous models manufactured by Airbus Helicopters SAS have been recorded since 1975, according to the investigation.

Wigwe died in the helicopter crash near Interstate 15 in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, and questions were raised over the circumstances surrounding the crash.

The same aircraft model crashed in the Grand Canyon in 2018 and claimed the lives of five people.

Scott Booth, who piloted that flight and managed to survive, told investigators that the aircraft encountered a violent gust of wind before spinning uncontrollably and crashing into flames.

Parents of Jonathan Udall, one of the passengers on the flight, who was on a honeymoon with Eleanor, his wife, had filed a lawsuit against Papillon Airways Inc, the company that owned the aircraft, and the manufacturer.

These plaintiffs argued before the Nevada judge that the aircraft was unsafe for air travel.

In January, the court ordered that Papillon should pay them $24.6 million and Airbus pay $75 million for the loss of their son.

Speaking to the Associated Press after the ruling, Gary Robb, the family’s lawyer, said, “They don’t want anyone else to go through what their son went through in an otherwise survivable accident — not a broken bone. He would have walked away.”

His statement was a nod to the fact that Jonathan did not die as a result of the direct impact of the crash but suffered burns in the explosion, which caused his death days later.

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