Wings Aviation Airplane Missing!

[DRPAM007]

Update On Elt

Hello guys,
If this can help for those with the resources.
Just confirmed from the NCAA DG, The ELT HEX ID of the missing B1900 is:

2DC 84394ECFFBFF .

Any update will be appreciated.
Thanks again.

[AircraftCarrier]

Some Insite To Distress Beacons

Mademan112,
I share your concerns with passion and I am really pleased that members of this forum went out of their way to act in the most diligent manner to give this incident the rightful attention.
121.5Mhz beacons are going to be phased out, from memory, by February 2009. As we all know, they transmit analogue data which is no use when the distress beacon and the Local User Terminal (LUT) are not in the satellite’s footprint. This increases the time of detection as you will now have to wait for a satellite whose footprint will be appropriate. So, if the next one comes over without the desired footprint, no show again. Each low earth orbiting (LEO – 800~1000km above the earth surface) satellite takes about 90 minutes to complete one polar orbit, while the geo-stationary (GEO) ones remains at 36000km above the Equator and these, owing to their stationary nature, does not pick up 121.5MHz distress signals. As the whole calculation is Doppler based, the computation would require a minimum of two satellite passes to resolve the actual position. Each satellite pass gives you two possible positions. The ground station requires a LEO-LUT (low earth orbiting satellite local user terminal) to finalise the whole computation. Now this is where we Pilots can get a little technical and do what we can to help! If you have a spare radio, keep one tuned permanently to 121.5Mhz. When you fly over an area where a beacon is active, you will know from the very distinct sound you will get on your head set (a bit similar to that from the first man made satellite in space - SPUTNIK). Note the position when you pick up the signal and note the position when it fades off. Pass the info with your altitude to the Air Traffic control, which I think should pass it onto the ground fellows at the Search and Rescue Centre. With so many reports we can come up with several circles of position and narrow down the search area. See how we have turned our aircrafts into satellites! It should not be difficult to make this a recommendation or encourage the Airline Operators to have it as part of their operating procedure. After all, we are all watching each others back! Even the doctor at some point in life may require a doctor too! But we have to educate the Air Traffic Controllers too, so they know the importance of the information being passed on to them.
406mHz distress beacons have the ability to be resolved by one satellite pass. Even better if the beacon is GPS equipped (known as Location Protocol Equipped Beacons), as a precise location can be obtained via the geo-satellites. However, for this to be possible, the ground station monitoring distress beacon signals must have a GEO-LUT (geo-stationary satellite local user terminal). 406MHz beacons come with a hexadecimal code know as the HEX ID. If registered with a Search and Rescue organisation, the moment a signal is picked up, it transmits this code and we can immediately tell who is in distress. These distress beacons don’t have to be in the same footprint as the Local User Terminal like their 121.5MHz counterparts. If the distress beacon is not in view with the LUT at the same time, the satellite stores the data and transmits that data the moment it comes in view of another LUT. It is the responsibility of the guys working in that LUT to pass on that data via their NODAL MCC to the appropriate Search and Rescue Coordination Centre. One other advantage of the 406MHz distress beacon is they all have a low-powered 121.5MHz component, for homing purposes.
Here on my computer screen, I can see the symbol of a LUT situated right in Abuja. I have no clue on what goes on there, it may very well be in its infancy stages. But there is one thing I know for sure! And that is on quite a number of occasions, Nigeria sends one of the highest amount of delegates to the COSPAS SARSAT meetings overseas! Second only to the number of delegates sent by the United States! What they go out to do and what they take back remains another very interesting lecture I would really love to attend.

Best wishes

[DRPAM007]

(Excerps of a write up in oct 2006 in the aftermath of the ADC 053 accident in Abuja)

Nigeria": Search and rescue; emergency response.

To show how intransigent we are, we have consistently paid lip service to SAR (search and rescue). Our emergency response system has been put through its paces by the plethora of accidents/incidents and found severely wanting. Most of the rescue is usually carried out by the good hearted Nigerian villagers. Last May, the then minister claims to embark on a campaign to promote public awareness on safety search and rescue. We are still searching for the AIPB search and rescue website.
Evidence suggests that most of the fatalities on ADC 053 resulted from the fire preceding the crash. Had the emergency response been swift, more lives would have been saved.
A study conducted by the American National transportation safety board (NTSB) showed that out of the total number of fatalities recorded during aircraft crashes only 27% die on impact, 73% die because of late response time and poor rescue co-ordination.
The airplane’s aluminum skin may burn through in one minute, and in another two to three minutes the inside temperature reaches a lethal 1,800 F.
The total elapsed time from beginning of a fuel fire until conditions become fatal is three to four minutes. Therefore, airport fire fighting personnel must arrive at the accident within three minutes if they are to have any chance of rescuing and saving passengers and crew.

A case in point is the Beechcraft 200 crash at Kaduna airport on 28th November 2005. This anomaly is not localised to Nigeria alone. A few instances where late and poor response has resulted in more fatalities abound. For example, on 12th August 1985, 520 people died when a Boeing 747 crashed in Japan because rescuers did not get to the scene of the crash till daylight; and the 20th January 1992 , Airbus A-320 crash near Strasbourg where 88 people died and only 8 survived: "At the scene was total chaos. No one knew exactly where or how they could help".

A classic case of an efficient system was the Air France 358 Airbus A340 accident on August 2nd, 2005. The aircraft over ran the runway at Pearson international airport in Toronto during a thunderstorm. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the ensuing fire, but all the 309 passengers and crew survived. A scenario that is remarkably similar to the Sosoliso accident of 10th December 2005 in Port Harcourt Nigeria with very different outcomes!

( full script can be found at http://nigeriaaviationsafety.org/WHEN_SAFETY_COMES_LAST.html )

[mademan112]

elt hex id no of the elt onboard the missing 1900d

The ELT HEX ID of the missing B1900 is:

2DC 84394ECFFBFF .

[mademan112]

lut

i tink the lut symbol should be that of nigercomsat located on the outskirt of the city on the way to the airport am not too sure

[AircraftCarrier]

We have checked this HEX ID on our system and the history comes up with nothing. However, I have passed on the results of my findings to my contact at the Nigerian Airspace and advised he contact the French MCC as they are Nigeria's NODAL MCC. The French MCC should be able to check their records and come up with something, provided the ELT is in good condition and did activate on impact.

[AircraftCarrier]

LUT

Men,
NO NO!
It will interest you to know that sometime ago, Nigeria was even applying to become the NODAL MCC for Africa. Achievable, with a little change in attitude. Those symbols only come up when you have been accepted into the COSPAS SARSAT club. It's written all over our manuals here! But let me share something with you! Some countries do it for prestige purposes. They have no capacity to run it effectively. It's like buying an expesive car just for the purpose of parking it in your driveway for people to see. It even gets worse when the buyer does not know how to drive!

[ruma]

It Could be Me!

This Country, 'NIGERIA' is blessed! But----The God given resources is not being managed well by our leaders in authority. This is not the first time aircrafts will be missing from Nigeria airspace! From my little knowledge, far way back to 1977 an Aztec belonging to then Nigerian Civil Aviation, Zaria got missing between 'Bida Vor' and Zaria up till today and nothing was done! A bell 412 also dissapeared up till tomorrow at Chevron field in Agbami. No trace of her up till now. 'Lisa' Village incident could have followed suite if not for the villagers that contacted the authority when we were looking for her in Kwara/Oyo state!-100nm away! The crash site of Lisa is less than 8nm to Lag yet nobody could find it appart from the villagers. By the time the authority got to the site, vital things were missing! The rest is history. Thanks to the 'search and rescue' -I was at N04 19.3, E005 49.6 today on my own! Its 'close to Auntie Julie' Platform owned by Conoil and close to Funiwa, Chevron filed in the Niger delta.
It is high time the aviation stake holders wake up and ask put a procedure on grond to face this type of emergency. I pray that the villagers can help us out to find the missing plane. The authority have failed the nation! Please let us do something fast! It could be me they are looking for!

[Capt. Manuvar]

i just heard that the NEMA helicopter doesn't have current airway charts, shame. Anyway their primary task is to carry VIPs all over the place, so what do they care.
Wings aviation has never been known for its standards and for those in the know, it was only a matter of time before something happened. Don't be fooled by fancy paintwork and the leather interior

[verreaux eagle]

This is shocking from a country which claims to be modern and on par with regards to aviation! I feel for our fellow aviators who operate in that part of the world! When will the government wake up and do something, not talk about it? Surely with the drive to be accepted worldwide by the Nigerians, the international powers like FAA, ICAO and JAA can put some pressure to resolve this absolute disregard for safety?
Capt. Manuvar, you hit the nail on the head with your last statement! What I have gathered from a reliable source in Nigeria, it was only a matter of time for something to happen with the Wings operation! It apparently is general knowledge that their is a total disregard for safety and the "LAW"! Any idea what the WX was in that area?
We pray that the missing aircraft can be located speedily, however considering the time since it happened, I am afraid it might not be "good news"
Hopefully the Nigerian CAA will now do something about these kind of operators!

[DRPAM007]

The Last Defense In The Error Chain?

I am elated to find that we have a great number of intellectual and concerned Nigerian Pilots in this forum.

I recall the Aviation and allied business published a brief interview in August 1997 while I was the secretary Pilot trade group in NAAPE ( National association of airline Pilots and Engineers), where I raised the issue of pilots being subjected to undue commercial pressure by operators thus impacting negatively on safety standards. The idea was to initiate a process that will evolve some sort of legal/job protection, considering a Pilot was sacked on the spot by the proprietor of Kabo airlines for refusing to conduct a pressurisation system test-flight with fare paying passengers on board. The aircraft had previously suffered an in-flight decompression (and) without sufficient oxygen on board. The rectification action required a mandatory test flight.
Suffice to say, another Pilot actually stepped forward and miraculously carried out the required test-flight and commercial flight simultaneously. You wonder what the tech log entry will read.
Of course the then Military government did not care and the FCAA was busy on a looting spree.The sad thing was most of the pilots just applauded the idea from a distance, but did nothing to support it.

“Evil thrives when good people do nothing”.

I do believe that the pilot is the last defence in the error chain.
No disrespect to our AME, (aircraft maintenance engineers) of which I happen to be one as well. This may seem far fetched or even arrogant, but the point I’m trying to make is that, the privilege brings with it great responsibilities. In essence, I hold the pilot community(myself included) largely responsible for the current despicable safety standard in the African sub continent.

Human error is inevitable, the 80:20 rule still holds sway despite ergonomics, defences-in-dept, Deming’s’ quality cycle, e.t.c.
We will still have errors in concept, design, manufacture, maintenance, SOP’s, air traffic control clearances, but all said and done if the point’s man with the stripes who accepts the tech log takes the decision that the flight will not go into the sky, there is a chance the accident will be averted. If he decides to risk it, it is his call but others too may have to pay for his recklessness.

Case in point. 25th Feb. 1995, maintenance error saw British midlands B737-400 despatched with both engines’ high pressure rotor drive covers missing. The flight crew observed the falling oil pressure and decided to make an emergency landing in Luton.The flight lasted only 17 minutes and landed with 10% oil in the gear box, saving 189 lives'; positive Last line of defence.

1st July 2001,Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev 154 flying from Moscow to Barcelona and a DHL Boeing 757 flying from Bergamo to Brussels. Both fully serviceable TCAS equipped aircrafts manned by very experienced crew in radar controlled airspace.
Both aircraft at FL 360 and converging. In a bid to avoid an imminent collision the controller gives TU-154 instruction to descend (expecting the B757 will still be maintaining FL360) but TCAS gives the TU-154 crew instruction to climb, Pilot decides to go with controller and descends. The DHL crew on the other hand, simply complied with their co-ordinated TCAS RA to descend.
The aircrafts collide at FL 330 and 71 people are killed. A classic case where no one really committed a culpable violation, but the last decision which could have averted the fatal accident rested with the pilots, and unfortunaltely the result was negative to the chain of defense.

The Nigerian Pilot community can not absolve itself from complicity in the current safety standards. I believe most of us stood by and watched; we failed to act appropriately while aviation safety standards are being eroded by ignorant bureaucrats and a few unscrupulous professionals.


A few reasons, why we should team up to salvage the situation.

1.International law accepts that a suspect is innocent, until proven guilty, but there is slight twist in aviation. Without really saying it, in the aftermath of an accident, the pilot assiduously is pre-judged guilty until absolved by the accident report.
2.Pilots by virtue of their location in the aircraft usually have the least chance of surviving most crashes.
3.Pilots put their signatures on their licenses to show they are bound by air law to comply with the safety regulations of the country of issue.
4.They are paid by the operators to professionally and safely carry out their duties (not yield to commercial pressure at the behest of the operator).
5.They are trusted by the travelling public to fly them in safety and relative comfort.

In the light of the above, why should Pilots (allow themselves to be coaxed into the habit of ) quietly and deliberately decide to fly aircrafts that are marginally safe/unsafe , in an airspace without adequate navigational aids, no route forecasts, to a destination without TAF,METAR, NOTAMs, secure perimeter, serviceable landing aids and adequate Rescue and fire fighting capability?


Ever visited some of your colleagues orphaned children and looked at them in the eye, knowing if you had stood up for what you believed, perhaps their parent may still be alive?


Do you still think there’s nothing we as a group can do?
We can speak out in the interest of safety and sustainable development. The operators, regulators, service providers, ground staff, engineers, travelling public all need us to speak out and act professionally.

I’m not insisting that you join a "perceived militant" group like NASI (Nigeria Aviation Safety Initiative) but at least decide and do something and as they say “A tree does not make a forest, but it can mark the beginning of an Oasis”.

[Flightsimman]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could provide an update to this situation.

Has the aircraft been found or is the search continuing???

Thanks........

[DRPAM007]

UPDATE......"The search is still on-going".

As at 1415Z,

I Spoke with the NAMA MD and basically they are in contact with the Spanish Mission control centre, and are still searching for the missing airplane.

This position was also confirmed by a few reliable aviation correspondents I called in Lagos.

Some rumours are making the rounds that the aircraft may have been sighted in Lanseria, (South Africa) which I consider most unlikely. We all know that the radar network in Johannesburg is pretty good comparatively. Well, to get to the bottom of it, I called Lanseria airport ([phone]) and spoke with the duty controller (today 1433Z) who checked their logs and informed me they have no information on the missing aircraft or any other Nigerian registered B1900 traffic recently.

The Nigerian senate appears peeved ( they dont know how peeved some us are!) and clamouring for heads to roll, but I think the timing is rather insensitive.
The right thing is to join efforts and resources, rescue the missing crew and afterwards analyse our dismal performance.

"Against the odds, we have to hope".

[NIJASEA]

At what point do we say enough is enough, Peeved is an understatement. I cant believe we cant locate an aircraft in the 21st century.

[ruma]

NEMA Helicopter

5N-BGY, the search and rescue helicopter is cooling off on ground NAF BASE, Port Harcourt after the so called search for the missing airplane in Obudu area. Also the Caverton Helicopter which is being conracted by NIMASA another agency have since returned to Lagos! Does that mean the search is over? Is it because the crew were the only one involved ? Imagine if they were with the governor on board? the government would have intensified thier search!
The only concerned person seems to be the senate president who is also a pilot with PPL(H). maybe that was why he was a little bit concerened with the statement he made on the telly! We the remaining masses are waiting to see the outcome of this search.I wish they could tell the whole world the type of training and equipment on board this so called search helicopter? What makes NIMASA contracted the search mission of its agency to Caverton in the first place? To the best of my knowledge, nothing special is on board their fleet of helicopters for the mission. The crew too were not specially trained for such----- So it is how far you can see and all that -----.I belief the float given the crew is exausted after a week of stay in Obudu. So they have to go and beg their oga for more fund? I am just wondering and i hope someone will raise my hope from this valley of ---

[Phone Wind]

Nigerian Government Scales Down Search Operation

"HAVING searched for the missing plane in vain for six days, the Federal Government is now considering scaling down the search operations by reducing the number of helicopters deployed for the purpose.
Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), AVM Maigari Audu Bida (rtd), told journalists yesterday that the missing plane was yet to be found and that the six helicopters deployed in the search would be reduced to one.

According to him, all but one of the helicopters belonged to private companies and were brought in to assist the Federal Government in the efforts to locate the plane. The only NEMA helicopter, he said, would continue with the search, just as the ground search party would intensify it operations.

Responding to a question on whether the agency had a time frame to search operation, the D-G said: “We don’t give up searching for an aircraft that is missing like this case because lives are involved and property are involved.

“What we do is that we could downgrade the number of people and the number of assets we assign to it. Like by tomorrow, we are thinking probably we could reduce the effort, we will leave the NEMA.

Meanwhile, the independent helicopters, we will tell them to go back to their companies because they are there for making money and we have taken about four days out of their time and we feel that since we have the ground search party, the ground search party would continue and our helicopter will continue.

“Whenever we have any information that something is happening anywhere, our helicopter can go there. But the other helicopters, we will tell them to go back to their companies by tomorrow,” he said.

According to him, most of the services of the helicopters were provided free to the Federal Government but the agency had to bear the cost of fuelling and crew amenities. He explained that most of them came on humanitarian grounds.

AVM Audu Bida said the search had been very difficult because of the the terrain which he described as mountainous and thick mangrove forests.

“So far, we have not located the missing aircraft but the last aircraft for search today (yesterday) landed in Calabar and we are looking at the possibility of the ground search party continuing the exercise tomorrow (today).

“The area where we are searching around Obudu is a very mountainous and you have some areas that have high mangrove forests. So, if an aircraft falls in there, you hardly can detect it. And the mountainous nature of the area makes it very dangerous for aircraft operations. So, people that are asking that up till now we have not seen the aircraft.

It is a very difficult terrain and it is not an easy place. It is not a low land nor flat land. You have a lot of mountain ranges and just by the side you have mangrove forest.

“You have trees that measure up to 300 feet in height and anything that goes under it probably you may not be able to locate it,” he said.

The search, he said, had led to the combing of Cross River State, Benue State, Ebonyi State, Enugu State, the Eastern borders and the mountains around it, adding: “I am just telling you all this to show you the efforts we have put in so that people who are asking questions would know how much efforts we have put in and are still putting in.”

The ground search party include officers of the police, Civil Defence, SSS, Cross State government officials, Cameroonians Search and Rescue officials, and volunteer members of the public."

[Capt. Manuvar]

Wings have two identical B1900s, 5N-PTL and 5N-JAH. I believe the former is in South Africa, possibly lanseria, undergoing maintenance. Maybe someone mistook it for the missing aircraft.

DRPAM007

I totally agree with you when you say we pilots are responsible for the situation in which we find ourselves now. The only reaction of Nigerian pilots to decaying facility is for us to grumble among ourselves. In fact, our ability to operate under these dangerous conditions has become something to brag about. Nobody writes reports, so officially nothing is wrong.

[ruma]

I totally agree with you when you say we pilots are responsible for the situation in which we find ourselves now. The only reaction of Nigerian pilots to decaying facility is for us to grumble among ourselves. In fact, our ability to operate under these dangerous conditions has become something to brag about. Nobody writes reports, so officially nothing is wrong

Pilots do write reports to the authority! At the end of the day, the hunter becomes the hunted!! An incidents happened sometimes in Aba, the people wrote a pettition to NCAA to investigate a case of a helicopter killing someone on ground. NCAA went there with their team of investigators and at the point of submitting the report to the concerned authority in Lagos, the file 'disappeared' mid air between Port Harcourt and Lagos. The surveyor in charge of the matter was warned never to re-visit the case. So the case is closed. A pilot was also fired in one of this 'new generation' company the last time for refusing to fly with a no go item in the MEL. When reports were written to the authority about a particular company, a copy of the pettition is given to the accused company before the audit for peanuts! The issue of corruption has eaten deep into the system here in Nigeria. We still have some bad eggs in the aviation ministry that are constantly sabotagging the ministry and the country in general.
Has any of us pilots taken the pain to supervise a C of A pre and post inspection documentations?How many times have you failed an engine for single engine climb? and at the end of the day, the technical department will pass the same engine with a bougos language without a follow up? At times you can hardly read the registration mark of some of our aeroplanes- meanwhile there is a minimum dimession of this artwork stated in the relevant documents. All in the name of fancy colours and interiors at the expense of safety. Provided the brown envellope is bouyant enough,the airplane will surely pass a C of A renewal. The equipments might be there on board! but are they serviceable? Most of the equipments on board are bougos part without a 'green label' Transponder is a no go item on our ships here in Nigeria. Are we sincere to the letter on our MEL? Several helicopters still flying around in our airspace without a serviceable transponder! The excuse is-NO TOTAL RADAR COVERAGE! The list is on and on if we are to be sincere with our selves. It is like putting round pegs in square holes.

[GroskinTheFlyer]

Agreed everything is in shambles in our dear country from SAR to crisis /information management, radar, etc it is however not unusual for missing planes to remain not found.In other cases it takes ages to locate crash sites even in developed countries and this is due to the type of terrain.

Steve fosset is a classical example,and this happened in a developed country.

I pray the plane is found with survivors.

[birrddog]

What can't they make EPIRB's mandatory?

(This of course being a rhetorical question)

The cost of satellite+gps epirbs being so low (sub US$500 for hand-held personal units) why can't these be made mandatory?

I realize this will take a long time to be put into law around the world, but cost can not be considered a factor. I realize aviation certified units would cost more, but certainly only a fraction relative to the cost of aircraft, let alone the value of crew+pax.

Even a pilot with 'means' like Fosset didn't have one.

When will we learn?

I recall flying in parts of Zambia where only luck would have had an aircraft flying overhead within the battery limits of our 121.5 epirb in a US$1.5 aircraft.