The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has issued a comprehensive report the Dana Airlines crash in Lagos in 2012.
According to the report, presented by Commissioner of the Bureau, Akin Olateru, Dana’s flight 0992 with registration number 5N-RAM, lost power in one of its engines 17 minutes into flight before it finally crashed on a building in the densely populated Iju-Ishaga suburb of Lagos on 3rd of June, 2012.
“On 3rd June 2012 at about 1545:00hrs, 5N-RAM, a Boeing MD-83, a domestic scheduled commercial flight, operated by Dana Airlines Nigeria Limited as flight 0992 (DANACO 0992), crashed into a densely populated area. Engine number 1 lost power seventeen minutes into the flight with a further loss of power on number 2 engine on final approach to 4 runway 18R at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Nigeria,” the report read.
Other causal factors that contributed to the crash included inappropriate omission of the use of the Checklist, the crew’s inability to appreciate the severity of the power-related problem, subsequent failure to land at the nearest suitable airfield and lack of situation awareness, inappropriate decision making, and poor airmanship
Over 160 fatalities were recorded, both onboard the airplane and on ground; 153 passengers, six crew members and six other persons on ground perished on the spot. The airplane was destroyed and there was post impact fire which affected other buildings around the crash scene.
It added that Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time and the airplane was on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), which suggests that the cause of the crash was not an external factor.
The AIB confirmed that in the course of investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States of America (USA), representing the State of Design and Manufacture of the aircraft, appointed an Accredited Representative along with a team of experts from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Boeing Company and Pratt & Whitney USA to help the investigation with valid information and forensic support in accordance with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13.
The bureau also said the operator of the airline, Dana Airlines Limited, co-operated with the investigation and provided assistance as required, adding that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was kept informed of developments to a conclusive stage.
