ouch, that hurts
so AS335 5N-BHU OAS Odengene Aviation Services = Oasis ??
One dead, 3 injured as helicopter crashes
By Kenneth Ehigiator & Emma Arubi
Posted to the Web: Saturday, November 11, 2006
WARRI — At least one person was killed and three others injured in a helicopter crash yesterday at Ovwian Aladja, near Warri, Delta State. The helicopter, an AS335 twin squirrel with registration number 5N-BHU, belonging to Odengene Aviation Services (OAS) Company Limited, Maryland, Lagos, was on its way to Port Harcourt from Lagos when it crashed at about 9:00am.
The helicopter was reported to be modifying its flight plan on account of bad weather in Port Harcourt before losing contact with air traffic controllers. It ran into high-tension power cables, and the three persons injured in the crash are now receiving treatment at an unidentified hospital in Warri.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on the crash, Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said among the survivors of the crash was an expatriate pilot of the helicopter. He said the helicopter departed Lagos at 7:11am and was due to arrive Port Harcourt at about 9:30am.
“Due to bad weather at Port Harcourt, Osubi Tower cleared the aircraft to join the Osubi traffic circuit. A few minutes later, phone calls were received from citizens in Aladja are, reporting that a helicopter had crashed after colliding with high tension power cables along Aladja expressway,” Chief Fani-Kayode said. Officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), he said, had been dispatched to the scene already cordoned off by the Police.
Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Captain Roland Iyayi, attributed the crash to poor visibility. He told newsmen that a five-year project aimed at identifying and removing all obstructions in the airspace was ongoing.
“Most of these obstructions are from the telecommunications sector and we are doing everything possible to remove them,” Capt. Iyayi said.
Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, announced the cancellation of night flights by helicopters in a reaction to the crash. Saturday Vanguard learnt that the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) of the Aviation Ministry had commenced investigation into the cause of the crash.
Reacting to the crash, management of OAS helicopters said the flight from Lagos was not a commercial flight, but a company flight. The company’s Executive Director, Mr. Moses Wilfur, said two Nigerians and two Filippinos were on board the helicopter at the time of the crash. According to him, the helicopter is relatively young, as it came into operation in 1999, having been manufactured on October 28, 1998. Mr. Wilfur insisted that the helicopter was airworthy at the time of the crash, due to constant maintenance.
When Saturday Vanguard visited the scene of the crash, wreckage of the crashed helicopter was seen littering the area, which was cordoned off by security men from the Police, Road Safety and Air Force, just as thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the wreckage.
Last edited by Sensible Garage; 11th Nov 2006 at 09:02.