A/C crashes near Maiduguri, Nigeria

[Hot and High]

Have just seen on the BBC world service web page that an a/c has crashed near Maiduguri, does anyone know any more.

[This message has been edited by Hot and High (edited 24 January 2001).]

[Boss Raptor]

According to my Lagos office it was an L410 operated by Pan African - routing Jos to Maiduguri - apparently it ran out of fuel as the visibility at MDI went below minima - happened in the early hours of this morning.

[Hani]

Hi there,
According to the Nigerian press, the a/c in question belongs to Air Eagle, being an L410
as mentioned, with registration marks
9L-LCG. On a funny note, the pilot was reportedly shouting at the Tower "Why are you people doing this to me" prior to the crash, after he noticed that the tower gave him "wrong" information earlier relating to viz and met. condition. (This is according to The Guardian newspaper, Lagos).

Here is the article published yesterday by Comet News.

*******************************************
18 survive plane crash in Maiduguri
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By Ese Awhotu and Dan Alo

The first plane crash of the year has occurred at the Maiduguri Airport, with the crashlanding on Tuesday of a chartered aircraft. There were no casualties.

Reports said there were 13 passengers, mainly members of the staff of the Thisday, a Lagos newspaper, and three crew members on board the chartered aircraft.

The aircraft, which belongs to AirEagle, took off from Jos and crashlanded in a farm behind the Artillery military barracks, about 12 kilometres away from the Maiduguri International Airport about 10.30p.m.

Witnesses said that all the passengers and crew members were safe and were immediately rushed to the Maiduguri University Teaching Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and discharged, but that the aircraft, which is an "L410" with registration number "9L-LCG" was seriously damaged.

The 15 passengers on board the aircraft were all members of staff of Thisday Newspaper, who chartered the aircraft for their "meet-the-nation tour".

The airport first got to know that the aircraft was on its way to Maiduguri when it was about 20 nautical miles to the airport, it was said, and when it was about 13 nautical miles to the airport, the pilot made contact with the control tower.

A source also said that the Maiduguri control tower advised the pilot to divert to the nearest airport because the weather in Maiduguri was bad.

According to the source, the pilot complained that he had no fuel to take him to the nearest airport, even to the Potiscum airstrip in Yobe which was the nearest.

Aviation Minister Dr. Kema Chikwe, who confirmed the crashlanding yesterday in Abuja, said it involved some members of the staff of Thisday newspaper, who were said to be okay.

In fact, the Thisday staff were in Lagos yesterday.

Chikwe said: "I am in moment-to-moment contact with my officials in connection with the incident."

She said the ministry was investigating the incident, adding that "a team of aviation accident investigators had already been dispatched to Maiduguri for this purpose."

Chikwe thanked God that no life was lost and conveyed her condolence to all those involved and the entire staff of Thisday.

The immediate cause of the crash landing of the Eagle plane, a private chartered plane, was unknown.

The Publisher of Thisday Mr. Nduka Obaigbena and his team were full of praises to God for sparing their lives.

Addressing a cross-section of sympathisers who thronged the airport, Mr. Obaigbena said: "The accident happened around 9:45:a.m Tuesday night and it was because the weather was hazy. We thank the President and his aides that promptly attended to us in our time of need.

"We were 13 on board and just three of us sustained injuries. God is wonderful and we will continue to be grateful to Him for sparing our lives".




[This message has been edited by Hani (edited 26 January 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Hani (edited 26 January 2001).]

[Boss Raptor]

9L - Sierra Leone I think - so what was a Sierra Leone registered aircraft doing operating in Nigeria? With journalists aboard, bad luck...A lovely piece, thank you for transcribing it Hani...

[chimbu warrior]

I think you will find it was Lithuanian registered. It seems that most Lets sold seem to remain on the Lithuanian register for a while after they are delivered.

[The Guvnor]

Chimbu Warrior - Considering that the aircraft are actually built in the Czech Republic (at Kunowice, to be precise), I am really rather intrigued as to why you would feel that they are generally delivered on the Lithuanian register!

Having operated four in Burundi, I can state categorically that none of our aircraft were ever on the Lithuanian register - Soviet, Ukranian, Swazi - but not Lithuanian! :) :) :)

Finally, I have confirmed from sources in Nigeria that this particular aircraft was indeed 9L-LCG at the time of its unfortunate demise. Still, it shows the strength of the aircraft that all the pax survived!