The Accident Investigation Bureau has blamed the pilots of OAS Helicopter and Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security and Dana Airlines for the crashes of the aircrafts of the company in 2011, 2012 and 2012 respectively.
Commissioner, AIB, Engr. Akin Olateru, disclosed that the OAS’s Ecuruiel A 350 B2 chopper with registration 5NBKA, which crashed at Oke-Oba Hill, Ikonifin, Osun State on July 29, 2011, crashed due to the non-adherence of the pilot to visual flight rules of clear-of cloud and obstacles while maintaining ground at all times led to Controlled Flight into Terrain. He added that the pilot was not instrument rated and that he lacked route familiarisation.
On the report on the serious incident involving PICOMSS with registration 5N-BKS at Benin Airport, Edo State on July 5, 2012, the AIB boss said the crash was the decision of the crew to continue the glide approach despite repeated landing gear warnings with the power lever below 25 per cent rather than initiating a Go-around.
“Other factors include the failure of the crew to recognise the landing gear warnings, no standard operating procedure/training policy in place, the crew low hours and experience, coupled with the rostering of two pilots with same capacity on a training flight as well as lack of crew resource management training,” he stated.
On the Dana June3 2012 crash, the AIB said the causal factors included the fact that the aircraft engine number 1 lost power seventeen minutes into the flight, and thereafter on final approach, Engine number 2 lost power and failed to respond to throttle movement on demand for increased power to sustain the aircraft in its flight configuration.
The investigator also fingered inappropriate omission of the use of the Checklist, and the crew’s inability to appreciate the severity of the power-related problem, and their subsequent failure to land at the nearest suitable airfield. It also pinpointed lack of situation awareness, inappropriate decision making, and poor airmanship.
According to the AIB, eight safety recommendations were made of which 4 in numbers wherein 3 was targeted to Dana Airlines and all were accepted and closed one was to NCAA, accepted and closed.
