Up to 100 feared dead in Nigeria crash

[Andrew Yong 0]

Very sad when see those photos !!!!!

[Andrew Ong 1]

Those are very scary photos of the aftermath

[Syaz 0]

Sigh...

 

another crash.. and another "see..." from my mum

[Azuddin 1]

9 people survived

[Andrew Ong 1]

9 people survived

 

I guess those 9 people are very lucky to survive that crash because the crash site looks likes that no one could have the crash

[Sandeep G 1]

I guess those 9 people are very lucky to survive that crash because the crash site looks likes that no one could have the crash

 

hehehe are you sleepy Andrew?

 

Indeed, 9 ppl to survive is very lucky, but it should not have ever happened..

[Imran K. 0]

A simple Google search on Insha Allah Airlines will turn up a few sites that will clearly explain what that particular phrase means. May you be able to compute again.

 

Computed...*bzzt*

[Azuddin 1]

I say that it is logic enough for 9 people to survive. these must be the people who sit at the back of th plane since this part wreck not as bad as the front.

[Andrew Ong 1]

I say that it is logic enough for 9 people to survive. these must be the people who sit at the back of th plane since this part wreck not as bad as the front.

 

I guess it is the SQ006 and JAL 123 repeat <_ which is when only the part people in back of airplane survived. src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/default_sad.png" alt=":("> <_>

Edited October 31, 2006 by Andrew Ong

[Lawrence L 0]

Source : www.thestar.com.my

 

ABUJA (Reuters) - I knew what I would find at the crash site but the sight of it still made my stomach heave.

 

I've read about plane crashes and seen them on television and as a correspondent in Nigeria I've had to write about several. But until Sunday I had never been to a crash site.

 

All that was left of the Boeing 737, operated by domestic carrier ADC, was the tail fin and a small section of the cabin, wedged into a tree.

 

I stared at the smouldering shreds of bodies, clothing and metal strewn across a charred cornfield where the plane came down, killing 96 people.

 

Another tragedy, another round of pledges to improve safety.

 

My experience in the 18 months I've lived here has not been encouraging. It's not just the disasters. The whole business of flying is fraught with difficulties.

 

In July last year, an Air France plane collided with a herd of cows, killing seven of them, while taxiing on the runway at Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil industry hub.

 

My most surreal moment was when I watched ground staff at Abuja airport pushing a Boeing 737-300 with their hands.

 

The refuelling truck had broken down and was blocking the wing. No one was able to fix the truck and there was no equipment to tow it out of the way.

 

In the end, airport staff resorted to pushing the plane.

 

It worked. The 56-tonne behemoth inched backwards and minutes later we were free of the offending truck and flying to Lagos, albeit four hours late.

 

DANGEROUS SKIES

 

Aviation is one of many sectors in Nigeria that suffer from the effects of corruption, mismanagement and neglect during three decades of almost continuous military dictatorship.

 

Africa's most populous nation and its top exporter of crude oil, Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999. For the past five years its revenues have ballooned thanks to rising oil prices but its infrastructure remains largely derelict.

 

The number of air passengers has more than doubled to over 8 million in the past seven years but most of the commercial fleet is over 20 years old.

 

African skies are the world's most dangerous, accounting for a third of accidents but just 4.5 percent of global traffic, according to the African Airlines Association. Yet even by these standards, Nigeria is a risky place to fly.

 

On Oct. 22 last year, a plane crashed in the countryside shortly after take-off from Lagos, killing 117 people. Seven weeks later, another jet crashed while trying to land at Port Harcourt.

 

More than half of the 106 victims were children going home from boarding school for the December break. Their parents watched the plane burn on the runway because there were no functioning fire engines.

 

After those two tragedies, President Olusegun Obasanjo temporarily grounded several airlines while their fleets were audited and sacked senior aviation officials.

 

A new civil aviation bill is going through parliament and modernisation works are under way at several of the country's ageing airports.

 

VIP MOVEMENT

 

Despite these efforts, flying in Nigeria is unpredictable.

 

I've lost count of the number of times I've sat on a plane circling above Abuja for an hour because of a "VIP movement". This means the president or maybe a state governor is flying in or out and while that happens no one else can take off or land.

 

Then there are the fuel shortages. Despite exporting about 2.4 million barrels of oil per day, Nigeria cannot meet its own needs in fuel so it has to import.

 

Dozens of flights were cancelled one morning when I needed to fly from Lagos to Abuja to cover, ironically, an aviation conference.

 

When I managed to find a flight, it first went 400 km further north to Kano because of the fuel problem.

 

I arrived at the conference four hours late. The chief executive of the sponsor airline didn't make it on time for his speech either.

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2006 Reuters

 

 

[Sandeep G 1]

A very interesting read Lawrence..

 

Very sad to see such potential wasted.. Hope the Nigerians work out their problems quick-smart to prevent this happening again.. but then you read the article... and you just wonder what is wrong with this world...

[Azuddin 1]

I guess it is the SQ006 and JAL 123 repeat <_ which is when only the part people in back of airplane survived. src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/default_sad.png" alt=":("> <_>

 

same goes to DL191 at Dallas and UA232 at Sioux City. Most survivors are at the back of the plane

[Lawrence L 0]

My jaw dropped when i read that they PUSHED the plane instead of using tow truck....

[Pieter C. 5]

Just read that the Nigerian CAA has revoked the license of Aviation Development Company (ADC)

[Sandeep G 1]

Just read that the Nigerian CAA has revoked the license of Aviation Development Company (ADC)

 

too little too late...

 

Yeah, I agree Lawrence.. if I saw a bunch of men pushing a 737 and there were no Guiness World Record bystanders and media.. I would have been shocked and wondered "what the hell am I doing here"...

[Pieter C. 5]

More news evolving:

 

US National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators to Nigeria to assist in determining the cause of Sunday's ADC Airlines 737-200 crash in Abuja that reportedly killed 98 of 106 on board and one farmer on the ground. Abuja's Daily Trust reported yesterday that the aircraft's pilots were told not to take off because of poor weather but insisted on doing so. Citing three ADC staff who declined to be identified, the newspaper said the Abuja Airport control tower sent instructions shortly before the crash "suspending flights from either landing or taking off from the airport" due to "very bad weather emanating from a heavy rainstorm in Abuja." The pilot chose to take off and was not stopped by the airline.

 

Flight 53 originated in Lagos and stopped in Abuja before departing to final destination Sokoto. The aircraft crashed and burned in a cornfield near Abuja Airport immediately after takeoff. According the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15A-powered aircraft, registered 5N-BFK, made its first flight in September 1983. The crash is the third commercial air disaster, and fourth overall, in Nigeria in fewer than 13 months, collectively killing more than 300 passengers. ASN said the latest crash marks ADC's fifth hull-loss accident since launching operations in 1991. According to its website, ADC operated four dash 200s. Eight passengers reportedly survived Sunday's crash.

 

and.....

 

CBC News

 

The pilot of a Nigerian airliner that plunged into a field, killing 96 people, ignored warnings that he should not take off because of poor weather conditions, a senior government official says.

 

"The pilot of the unfortunate accident refused to take advantage of the weather advice and the opinion of the [control] tower to exercise patience and allow the weather to clear for a safe takeoff," Aviation Minister Babalola Borishade said at a news conference Monday.

 

The Boeing 737 plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff Sunday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The airline said there were nine survivors.

 

There's no word on what caused the crash, but investigators have located one of the plane's flight recorders.

 

While Borishade didn't specifically blame the crash on pilot error, he pointed out that the weather conditions at the time included rain, gusty winds, thunder, and lightning.

 

Borishade said that air traffic controllers thought the weather would worsen.

 

"The air traffic controller re-emphasized the deteriorating weather condition and gave wind checks, which they [the crew] acknowledged," he said.

 

Borishade also criticized the fact that the air crew are allowed to override advice from the control tower.

 

He blamed the practice for being "largely responsible for unfortunate consequences in the history of air mishaps in this country."

 

"The federal government has directed the National Civil Aviation Authority to look into this and prepare appropriate guidelines to stop this reckless abuse of crew discretionary power."

 

Among those aboard the plane and confirmed dead was Nigeria's top Muslim leader, Muhammadu Maccido, the sultan of Sokoto. Maccido was head of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria.

 

Maccido's son, a senator, also died in the crash, along with Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, the son of former Nigerian president Shehu Shagari.

 

(With files from the Associated Press)

 

[Sandeep G 1]

Among those aboard the plane and confirmed dead was Nigeria's top Muslim leader, Muhammadu Maccido, the sultan of Sokoto. Maccido was head of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria.

 

Maccido's son, a senator, also died in the crash, along with Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, the son of former Nigerian president Shehu Shagari.

 

I hope it's not just because of the death of these VIPs that Nigeria will clean up its act.. mind you, I'm sure there are plenty of other conspiracy theories circulating Nigeria that this was more of a "hit" than an accident given the high profile pax on board..

 

Whatever it is, detiriorating weather - impatient pilot - accident... sounds a bit too strange to me...

 

[H Azmal 0]

 

 

Whatever it is, detiriorating weather - impatient pilot - accident... sounds a bit too strange to me...

 

Hey Sandeep, may I quote to you the tagline of Nat Geo's Seconds From Disaster?

 

 

Disasters don't just happen. They are the result of events locked together in time. Blending advanced CGI, archival footage, re-enactments, forensic science, dramatic eyewitness accounts and expert testimony, join us as we deconstruct, moment-by-moment, the chain of events leading up to Seconds From Disaster.

 

Edited November 1, 2006 by H Azmal