We are ready for audit, Dana tells FG

• Pilot has 30 years’ experience

Dana Air said it welcomed recent audit ordered by the Federal Government, saying it was willing to work with the team and the FG to demonstrate its commitment not just to flying but to flying safe.

Spokesman for Dana Air, Mr. Kingsley Ezenwa in a statement noted that the pilot of that flight is a happily married man and a proud father of three beautiful children.

 He is said to have accrued has over 30 years’ experience in the aviation industry and one of the very best in his profession, describing him as, “meticulous in his duties, and headhunted from another domestic airline”, where he also served as the head of safety and quality standards.

The carrier disclosed that the excerpts of the reports from the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) confirmed that the air traffic control, an arm of the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA) that is saddled with the responsibility of issuing instructions that the pilots are required to obey, had cleared the pilot in command to land.

The Federal Government had on Wednesday ordered a comprehensive audit of Dana Airline. The decision followed a report received from the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over incidences of mishaps recorded by the airline.

A tragedy was averted last month when a Dana aircraft numbered 9J0363, flying from Abuja to Port Harcourt skidded off at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The AIB on Tuesday gave vivid description of how the incidents involving Delta Air A330 aircraft, with registration N858NW and Dana Airlines MD-83, marked 5N-SRI that skidded off the runway at the Port Harcourt International occurred.

While the incident involving the American carrier occurred on February 13, 2018 shortly after take-off when the pilot noticed fire in the number one engine of the twin engine airplane; that of Dana happened on February 21, 2018 when the airplane overshot the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State.

The preliminary report made available to Woleshadare.net by the Commissioner, AIB, Akin Olateru, an aircraft engineer, pointed out that the Dana crew observed there was weather between 17nm and 7nm on the VHF Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR) VOR/ Distance measuring equipment (DME), adding that the ride on the approach was comfortable. The report hinted that at that time, the aircraft was in a landing configuration, flaps 40.

The crew was said to have reported that the runway had experienced recent rain before arrival and after touch down, looked and felt contaminated with flood of water that did not drain well.

The report further stated that after the aircraft came to a complete stop, engines were shut down and emergency power switch was turned on. “Emergency light came on, all other lights were off and the public address system was not working, the lead crew had to open the cockpit door to obtain emergency evacuation instructions from the captain.

“Emergency evacuation was carried out using only the left forward main door and the escape slide on this door did not deploy. The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) arrived during the evacuation.

All persons on board were evacuated unhurt. The accident occurred at night,” the AIB report stated. Speaking on the Delta Air incident, the AIB report said: “On February 13, 2018 at about 2251hrs, a schedule flight DAL55, an Airbus A330-223 aircraft with registration N858NW belonging to Delta Air Lines Inc. on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan, departed Lagos, Nigeria, for Atlanta, United States of America with 221 passengers and 13 crew on board.

“At about 2252hrs, when the aircraft was climbing out of 1700ft Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL), #1 engine Fire warning came on. Few seconds after, the crew declared emergency and requested for immediate air return which was approved by the ATC.

“The aircraft landed at about 2259hrs and stopped on runway 18R. “Initial findings by AIB indicated that the flight crew were certified and qualified to conduct the flight in accordance with applicable FAA regulations. Consequently, number one engine fire warning came on about a minute after take-off, while the crew at 2252.25hrs contacted ATC and declared emergency.

“The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFFS) reported observing fire on number one engine and extinguished it. Passengers were evacuated using the emergency slides on the right side of the aircraft.

Wole Shadare