The news (or lack of it) as to what really happened to the OLOG 412 saddens, but doesn't surprise me. There have been too many unanswered questions in Nigeria over the years. Some of them are plain cover-ups where there are so many answers nobody knows which (if any) is the true one. The 412 sounds like that.
Doesn't any PPRuNer know a reporter on Fox News, BBC, Washington Post, The Guardian, Canard Enchaine, Flight International, Rotor & Wing who wants to look deeper into these things? Accidents happen everywhere, but Nigeria has a bad reputation for accidents where the true cause is never known.
It wasn't always like that. Back in 1978 a Bristow Wessex lost its tail rotor and crashed with (miraculously) only minor injuries. This was in the days before OLOG when Bristow was a company with integrity. Despite weeks of looking the tail rotor was never discovered. Many years later it was found and the late Mike Griffin, a man of great integrity, would tell anyone who was interested all about the accident investigation and the actual cause of the accident. However, there was a much less thorough investigation as to who murdered Sheila Le Grys in her house in the Shell camp in Warri about the same time.
There have been many crashes in Nigeria the causes of which are unresolved or obfuscated, some of which took the lives of good friends, colleagues and aquaintances. They have involved different helicopter companies, airlines and oil companies. None are blameless.
What was the real cause of the ADC crash into Lekki Lagoon and what was really behind the Aero Contractors Twin Otter crash into the side of a mountain?
Why did a Bristow Bell 212 flying out of Eket for Mobil ditch when apparently serviceable, resulting in fatalities? Even worse, why has nobody yet been prosecuted over the death of Monty Hartley flying a Bell 212 of Bristow from Port Harcourt? What was the real cause of the Aero Dauphin 5N-BBS crashing at Brass whilst flying for NAOC? Does anybody seriously believe the official report?
It's not just Nigeria. Why has there been nothing on the Heli Union SA365C3 which landed in the water in Douala (at least that one did not result in any fatalities.
And now this 412 fatal accident. Why do we allow these things to just rest with so many unanswered questions? ambidextrous, SASless and the others are right. Nigeria from a safety point of view is a world disgrace. There are no SAR facilities, too many unmarked masts, too much reliance on (illegal) GPS approaches, lousy communications. The list just goes on and on. What do the oil companies do about it? Nothing. Yes, it can be argued that many of these things are the responsibility of government, but where governments are unwilling to act, those same ouil companies who insist on all sorts of safety measures in 'first world' countries are quite happy to let things continue as they are in Nigeria, safe in the knowledge that when accidents happen, there will be little publicity in the world press, so they can continue saving a few dollars blood money on their transport budgets.
I have spent many happy years in Africa, but I'm not blind as to all the things that are so terribly wrong here. For those who have never worked here and are being asked questions as to your flying experience and accident history, maybe you should ask about the accident history of the company you're thinking of working for and whether they have any accidents whose causes have never been satisfactorily explained. Ask what measures your intended company has in place to rescue you if you sufer a catastrophic failure in a helicopter when you're out on a night medivac at the height of the rainy season. Ask how good their communications are when you're 100 miles offshore at night on a rescue mission. Ask if they have any proper medical facilities available near to where you're going to live if you suffer a serious illness at 2.00 in the morning. Ask if they have emergency repatriation facilities to a first world country if you're seriously injured and need to get decent medical care. Don't just come here for the money. Despite the money, many Nigerians have left to live and work in freezing Europe, paying high taxes just so they could have access to all those facilities I have just mentioned, whilst they also feel happier that their families are in a more secure environment. If you want to come here, come for the warm weather, to experience a different culture and broaden your horizons. But before you do, think about all the things mentioned on this thread and weigh them in the balance.
Sorry, don't usually go on so much, but the lack of any proper information as to what killed the 412 people and the lack of any changes as a result of it, have touched a raw nerve.