plane crash in Lagos Nigeria

[traderflyer]

:{A plane crash just occurred in Lagos Nigeria. Heard it on radio and Friends that live in the area. No news yet on airline or survivors yet.

[traderflyer]

Its a dana air flight from abuja to lagos with about 150 souls on board

[Shunanny]

DANA Air
Conflicting reports on number of passengers (ranging from 154 passengers to 168) or routing Lagos to Abuja/ Abuja-Lagos:ugh::{

[Shunanny]

Exclusive Pictures Of Crashed Dana Air In Lagos A few Minutes Ago ~ CKN Nigeria (http://www.cknnigeria.com/2012/06/exclusive-pictures-of-crashed-dana-air.html?m=1)

[eagleflier]

Can someone please confirm if it was LOS-ABV or ABV-LOS. Suspect it's the latter. A friend just called me and she was hysterical. Her mom's on Dana to Lagos

[Tableview]

The head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said the Dana Air flight was heading to Lagos from the capital Abuja.
Passenger plane crashes in Nigeria, at least 150 on board (PHOTOS) — RT (http://www.rt.com/news/passenger-plane-crash-lagos-881/)

Two conflicting statements supposedly from the same source.

[Heathrow Harry]

BBC:-


A passenger plane has crashed into a building in Nigeria's main city of Lagos, officials and witnesses say.
The Dana Air flight was heading from Lagos to Abuja, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority head Harold Denuren told AP news agency.
There is no word yet on casualties.
Federal emergency management confirmed the crash in a neighborhood just outside the airport, AP reported, and said emergency personnel were on their way to the scene.

[Tableview]

Dana Air Plane Heading from Abuja to Lagos Crashes in Iju, Lagos | Bella Naija (http://www.bellanaija.com/2012/06/03/dana-air-plane-heading-from-abuja-to-lagos-crashes-in-iju-lagos/)

Dana Air Plane Heading from Abuja to Lagos Crashes in Iju, Lagos

Posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 at 4:56 PM By Adeola Adeyemo
Sad news reaching us is that a commercial airliner operated by DANA Air has crashed in the Iju area of Lagos. The aircraft was arriving from Abuja on a local flight when it crashed into a powerline in the area.
According to the report by Sahara Reporters, the plane had 153 passengers on board.
Femi Oke-Osanyinpolu, Lagos state emergency state manager, said Sunday that casualty numbers are unknown.
Harold Denuren, head of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed the crash. He said the Dana Air flight was heading from Lagos to Abuja in Nigeria. He said federal authorities were on their way to the site of the crash.
This news gives me shivers. Just minutes after reporting news of the bomb blast in Bauchi, now this.
The number of casualties has not been ascertained, but I pray for the lives of all those that were on board that plane and people that were in the area where it crashed.

[Evey_Hammond]

ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas MD-83 registration unknown Lagos (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20120603-0)

[reverserunlocked]

MD80/83 perhaps, looking at the tail wreckage? Second fatal crash in Africa in a week but sadly par for the course for that part of the world. Two fatal jet crashes in the West in a couple of days would be front page news.

[Teddy Robinson]

in fact it is the second within 24 hours.

[Tableview]

Dana Air's schedule for today :
9J 992 ABV LOS 1413 1521
9J 997 LOS ABV 1728 1836
9J 349 LOS ABV 1503 1620
all operated by MD83

(This may not be accurate)

According to Dana Air's website :More than 1,160 MD-80s have entered service worldwide, making it one of the most popular jetliners in history. Seating capacity is 140 passengers.

Reports saying up to 153 on board.

[pudoc]

AvHerald reporting it was leaving Lagos heading to Abuja.

[golfyankeesierra]

More than 1,160 MD-80s have entered service worldwide, making it one of the most popular jetliners in history. Seating capacity is 140 passengers.
Reports saying up to 153 on board.
if full house then: 140seats + crew + infants(sitting on lap) =SOB

[nuclear weapon]

I can confirm it as I live in iju about 3.5nm from touchdown r18left. The crash happened at 5nm touchdown from the runway. Very sad indeed.

[Tableview]

if full house then: 140seats + crew + infants(sitting on lap) =SOB

Yes, I realise that, but it's not unknown for seating capacity to be exceeded in that part of the world. 140 seats, cockpit crew 2, cabin crew 3, plus 8 infants = 153 ..... it's possible.

More surprising is that whilst some sources are quoting it crashed on finals inbound from Abuja, others are saying it crashed on take-off from Lagos. Even AV Herald comments differ on that.

[sam20gh]

according to Akande Iyiola, zone coordinator with Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency, the plane was heading to Lagos from Abuja
here is CNN news link

Passenger plane crashes in Nigeria - CNN.com (http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/03/world/africa/nigeria-plane-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t2)
:(

[LNAV737]

They were not sitting in the lap ! For Your info Dana is all economy so seating configuration is 150+ ....There were two American pilots in the flight deck...most likely ex AA pilots :(

[Tableview]

For Your info Dana is all economy so seating configuration is 150+Possible seating config for M83 is up to 165. The figure of 140 is from Dana Air's own website, I didn't suck it out of my thumb.

Found a report stating Lagos Plane Crash: 153 Passengers Feared Killed | Sahara Reporters (http://saharareporters.com/news-page/lagos-plane-crash-153-passengers-feared-killed)

The flight,9J-996, originating from Abuja, was approaching the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, with less than four minutes to landing. That flight is (apparently) scheduled to operate departing ABV at 1926 and arrival LOS 2043 so .... who knows.

From Dana Air's website :

Lagos (LOS) 9J996 19:26 20:43 01:17 NonStop Sun

[msitu]

Could be an MD-83.. 155 Seats?

[worldpilot]

A German website attests Dana air to have a high security and quality standard, which is not too bad for an operator in Nigerian circumstances.

Dana Air MD-80-Flotte - www.MD-80.com - Onlinedienst für ein kostenfreies Nachschlagewerk (http://www.md-80.com/mcdonnell-douglas-md-80/md-80-betreiber/dana-air-md-80-flotte/)

Apparently, the aircraft were formally used by Alaska Airlines.

This incident and the one in Accra will certainly project more doubts about the safety standard of Nigerian operators. Very unfortunate indeed.

[Twin2040]

Anyone able to tell nationallity of F/D - have eks.colleque and fellow Commander flying there - Thanks.

[pilot11]

Does anyone know the nationality of the crew? I have quite a few old collegues working there.

[Twin2040]

Pilot11 - From Sweden ? - we are looking for the same guy - hope his fine !

[luoto]

All dead claim agency reports citing govt officials.

[Shunanny]

Unconfirmed reports the F/D crew as Captain: American, F/O Indian.

[Twin2040]

OK - Thanks for the update.

[Titania]

This plane suffered a bird strike on 19 April 2012. Source: Incident: Dana Air MD83 at Lagos on Apr 19th 2010, bird strike (http://avherald.com/h?article=42a53c5b&opt=0)

[Tableview]

An investigation is under way, but in difficult conditions as darkness falls, says the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross.

Good to see the usual geographical accuracy!

[NaijaPilot]

Lagos (WorldStage Newsonline)-- The entire 153 passengers in an aircraft operated by Dana Airlines which crashed into a densely populated area in Lagos, and the residents of the two buildings in Toyin Area of Iju Ishaga area where it crashed, were feared perished on Sunday.

Eye witness accounts said the aircraft was seeing struggling to gain balance as it was coming down before it finally crashed into the buildings.
]Sources who witnessed the crashed said the aircraft crashed first into a coconut palm and mango trees before it finally fell onto a factory and a two story buildings. An eye witness, Kabiru Salami, a resident of No 107 Odetunde Street, who said he was on the top floor of his house when the aircraft crashed on the factory and the two story building claimed the aircraft did not nosedive, rather it had its nose up and the tail closer to the ground before it finally hit the two building with its belly while the tail hit the factory building.

"I was outside on the balcony when suddenly I saw the aircraft coming down forcefully. The aircraft was moving in a zigzag manner. I was shocked when one of its wings push down the coconut and mango tree on its path. It did not come down with its nose. The nose was raised up while the tail side went down till it hit the two story buildings with its belly side and finally fell on both the building and the factory.” he said. Another eyewitness, a Pastor Fredrick Akingbe, the owner of building number 5 which was the third building to the factory located at number 9, Popoola Street said that he had just left his church located next to the factory where the aircraft crashed when he heard a big bang and by the time he came out, thick smoke was bellowing into the atmosphere and he had to run out of the building .Confirming Kiburu statement, Akingbe said the aircraft did not explode immediately it crashed on the building.

“I had just returned from the church and undressing when I heard a big bang. I quickly rushed out only to find out that an aircraft had fell into those buildings, suddenly there was a big smoke which enveloped the entire area including my house. I ran out but before we knew what to do there were explosion about four times and the aircraft burst into a very ball of fire which caught the entire buildings and part of my church where I preached this afternoon. But before we also knew what was happening, the entire place had been crowded by on lookers who trooped to this place in their thousands. So, nobody could move near the buildings to rescue anything.

At the scene of the crash, rescue workers were seen putting out the fire while the bodies of some of the residents of the two story buildings were evacuated from the wreckage of the building .

[wanabeeCapt]

A Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration 5N-RAM performing flight 9J-992 from Abuja to Lagos (Nigeria) with 147 passengers and 6 crew, was on approach to Lagos about 11nm from LAG VOR when the crew declared emergency reporting engine problems. At about 15:00L (14:00Z) the aircraft collided with a power line, crashed into a built up area about 1nm abeam threshold runway 18LCrash: Dana MD83 at Lagos on Jun 3rd 2012, following Mayday call collided with power line on approach (http://avherald.com/h?article=4508fb60&opt=0)

[DownIn3Green]

Maybe this is the cause for some confusion...On the website allafrica.com they are saying the A/C took off from Lagos and was trying to return due to an unknown problem...

[212man]

According to a first hand witness (offshore helicopter pilot who heard the call and who was the first on scene, giving the location to ATC) the mayday call said "double engine failure."

[covertwar]

Not a good day for the Nigerian AOC. First the 727 crash in ACC, now this.

[RiSq]

According to a first hand witness (offshore helicopter pilot who heard the call and who was the first on scene, giving the location to ATC) the mayday call said "double engine failure."

If that is the case then I imagine at their altitude they were all passengers. I read another eye-witness state that the approach shortly before hitting the building suggests a nose up, tail down stance of the aircraft, which indicates the crew were at least in control, or attempting to control the aircrafts descent and landing.

I'm no pilot but in that situation I can only imagine it's a case of "Keep her up as long as I can, try to find a clearing". Is the entire area as densely populated as it looks or could it be they were aiming for a clearing but sadly fell short?

A shame nevertheless and hopefully an in-depth investigation ensues. Whenever I see crash scenes filled with on-lookers it always makes me squirm as in those situations evidence can be disturbed, parts and equipment go missing etc - I suppose in a continent such as Africa it's impossible to police such a situation.

[PAXboy]

RiSqIs the entire area as densely populated as it looksYes. African cities tend to sprawl wide at lowish heights.

[Lawwyy]

Most importantly we hope the authorities conduct proper investigation so we know what exactly transpired

[20milesout]

"A Dana Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration 5N-RAM performing flight 9J-992 from Abuja to Lagos (Nigeria) with 147 passengers and 6 crew, was on approach to Lagos about 11nm from LAG VOR when the crew declared emergency reporting engine problems. At about 15:00L (14:00Z) the aircraft collided with a power line, crashed into a built up area about 1nm abeam threshold runway 18L at Oluwatoyin Street (not intersection of Toyin Street and Olowu Street as originally reported) and burst into flames..."

AVHerald, last updated Sunday, Jun 3rd 2012 21:02Z (http://avherald.com/h?article=4508fb60&opt=0)

[737-NG]

I suppose in a country such as Africa it's impossible to police such a situation.

Africa is actually a continent with 54 (yes 54, more than EU, America, or Asia!!) different countries and a multitude of ethnicities and thousands of languages.

[RiSq]

Paxboy
Yes. African cities tend to sprawl wide at lowish heights.

Thanks for that - this is what I assumed but wanted to make sure. Obviously at this time, we have little information to go by and it's eye witness hearsay with very little knowledge.

The fact the poster was able to quote that a pilot heard the mayday call citing a double engine failure does give us a bit of info though.

Going by the eyewitness report though, the reason I stated a clearing was due to the comment "The plane appeared to be "zigzagging"

Surely if the plane was not under power, you'd limit movement to your control surfaces to maintain what little speed and altitude you have. Which led me to the thought that they were in fact, trying to line up with a clearing (or what they believed to be one)rather than a densely populated area, but fell short.

The reason I say this is because of fairly "controlled" pitch that the eye witness describes. Of course, it could be the crew were trying to eek a couple of hundred more feet in travel, but again, it doesn't make sense to me why the plane would be zig-zagging without power, unless they cited a potential "safe point" as surely it just decreases their range further?

Obviously I'm no Pilot, nor do I claim to be one. I'm no arm chair pilot I just have an interest in all aspects of Aviation. I'm just trying to stimulate conversation and at the same time, hear your opinions. Obviously this is a rumour and news discussion and hopefully I haven't gone outside the realms of "possibility" where I get grief for adding my input.

Update:

I just viewed the crash site on google earth, and it does appear that they had nowhere to go, as there was no clearing. So I suppose that train of thought is out of the window.

Cheers all,

I suppose in a country such as Africa it's impossible to police such a situation.

Africa is actually a continent with 54 (yes 54, more than EU, America, or Asia!!) different countries and a multitude of ethnicities and thousands of languages.

Ah - I did put continent but it appears my i Device decided to change it. Thank you for the correction however, as I can now change it and not look more of a baffoon than I already do,

My point remains (excluding the Country/ Continent error) that the Video footage shows a somewhat chaotic scenario, which could expose equipment to being looted, contaminated evidence etc.

Cheers.

[sevenstrokeroll]

double engine failure? very unlikely...any birds to suck?????

does everyone agree the plane was on approach to landing?

[Bobbsy]

Quote:
An investigation is under way, but in difficult conditions as darkness falls, says the BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross.
Good to see the usual geographical accuracy!

Will Ross IS the BBC's East Africa Correspondent (based in Kenya) but frequently covers stories all over the continent.

[pattern_is_full]

I'm no pilot but in that situation I can only imagine it's a case of "Keep her up as long as I can, try to find a clearing". Is the entire area as densely populated as it looks or could it be they were aiming for a clearing but sadly fell short?

A bit of a side-note - but trying to "keep her up as long as I can" is the perfect way to convert a survivable forced landing (a la Sully in the Hudson) into a fatal uncontrolled crash.

It's called "stretching the glide" - and one of the first lessons in flying is "Don't try it!"

With no power, the only way to "keep her up" is to swap airspeed for altitude. With two negative consequences.

1. The worst is that below a certain speed, the wing stalls and you drop like a rock with virtually no control. = smoking hole in ground.

2. Assuming you maintain enough speed for control, slowing up to "keep her up" is still exactly what will cause you to fall short. Slowing the plane up lengthens the time required to get to your "clearing" - but doesn't substantially increase the time you have available (since lower speed means less lift, so you sink just as fast - or faster). = landing with some control but well short of the clearing.

Any aircraft type has a known "Best Glide Speed." Go faster than that and you won't glide as far - and go slower than that and you also won't glide as far. If you can't reach a safe landing spot at best glide speed - you can't reach it at any other speed, either.

Lots of unknowns still - but I suspect if total power loss occurred, the crew simply ran out of altitude before they ran out of obstacles. Sully himself would tell you he and his passengers were very lucky that the city over which he had his dual engine failure had a nice big wet runway right through the middle.

[LNAV VNAV -]

The first thing that comes to my mind in an accident like this, is not a double engine failure but an autothrust problem like the Turkish Airlines 737 had in Amsterdam.

[Arfur Dent]

Pattern is full

Couldn't have put it any better myself. All you journos and non flyers - read what Mr Pattern writes. There are no 'strings' that you can pull to stretch the glide. That's why in the old days on little aircraft we always aimed to land a third of the way up the runway on a PFL. You can bring the touchdown point back with drag but you can't stretch it if you're already flying at the optimum L/D speed.:ok:

[ironbutt57]

If they were configured, there probably wasn't a whole lot of "stretch" available, low energy state, no thrust....wings zig-zagging (rocking?), could be attributed to edge of the stall, trying to reduce the forward momentum in attempt to minimize impact...

[Payscale]

Could be an number of things. Fuel contamination being just one.
But blame it on the pilots will probably be a tempting conclusion

[Daermon ATC]

Couldn't have put it any better myself. All you journos and non flyers - read what Mr Pattern writes. There are no 'strings' that you can pull to stretch the glide. That's why in the old days on little aircraft we always aimed to land a third of the way up the runway on a PFL. You can bring the touchdown point back with drag but you can't stretch it if you're already flying at the optimum L/D speed

So I have... as an ATCo trying to better understand the nuances of whirling large chunks of metal through the air (aka "flying") I certainly do welcome these insights, thanks both for the input.
:ok:

[sevenstrokeroll]

yes, pattern is full is quite right...can't stretch a glide

I would like to know what configuration the plane was in (flaps/gear etc)

one could think fuel exhaustion...but there was a post crash fire reported

one can think of fuel starvation (boost pumps on we hope)...however, if the crew had been crossfeeding and forgotten....well, that is one way to lose an engine

indeed, I will go out on a limb and say: crossfeed and run both engines off one tank, run tank dry and both engines go out...oops...even with fuel in the other tank

so...that's my theory for now

[FlightCosting]

Video from the scene show one engine showing no indication of fire damage so it looks as if it was fuel starved

[aterpster]

pattern is full:

Lots of unknowns still - but I suspect if total power loss occurred, the crew simply ran out of altitude before they ran out of obstacles. Sully himself would tell you he and his passengers were very lucky that the city over which he had his dual engine failure had a nice big wet runway right through the middle.

And, within gliding distance, and severe clear in an area not known for lots of great weather in the winter.

[NaijaPilot]

An eyewitness, Collins Chukwukanne, who lives within the area, said they noticed the Dana plane swerving in the air from Pipeline area towards a church, End Time Gospel Ministry International.

According to him, “we were all confused and tried to run when we noticed that the plane was coming down.

“But at a point it tried to climb up again but unfortunately one of its wings got entangled in a mango tree and broke off, while the plane caught fire.

“As the wing fell off the body, the remaining part of the plane crashed into a two-storey building beside the tree then into yet another building and then into a factory before the nose finally crashed into the church.

“An explosion followed immediately after and the whole place was set on fire. Some of the residents of the affected buildings ran out but others were not so lucky.”

Collins said immediately the incident happened, “we started calling all emergency lines but there was no positive response until around 4.00 p.m. when the first rescue team came.”

Meanwhile, another resident in the area told The Guardian that they tried to stop the fire but it was too severe.

“We were seeing roasted bodies falling off from the tree and the building. It was a horrible disaster and I pray never to witness it again.”

It was however unfortunate that the location of the disaster did not make the rescue operations any easier. The access routes were too bad for vehicles to pass. Even trucks with rescue equipment could not easily be moved into the area.

A resident, Bode David, who flayed the emergency team for coming late to the scene, said some of the affected buildings could have been saved.

Another eyewitness said that he was out with his friends at the Powerline when they sighted the plane approaching and noticed that it was unusual flight.

“It was unstable like your driving a car and swerving its steering. It was coming down and about aiming at the near-by Longe Hospital. But before it got there, it picked up again. But soon it started coming down again. It was one of the wings that touched a mango tree and the plane caught fire mid-air and crash-landed into the building. That was around 2.30 p.m.

“We were calling security number 112 among other numbers but they were just speaking grammar. They did not come until around 4.00 p.m. for an incident that happened before 2.30 p.m. If they had come on time, this building (pointing) wouldn’t have burnt completely. They came late.” he said.

Policemen first arrived. “We were actually disappointed because in a situation like this, we expected the Fire Service to make the first response. After the police, we heard sirens approaching and about 30 minutes later, the Fire Service water came,” David said.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88207:flight-unto-death&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

[Old King Coal]

A number of years ago, I myself used to fly out of Nigeria (plus various other countries in West Africa) and am big fan of the place - it certainly beats the sandpit! - and I'll be very interested to see if the (notoriously incompetent & corrupt) NCAA (http://www.ncaa.gov.ng/) can investigate this without significant external help, if at all?!

For the less worldly-wise amongst us, you might like to click on the following link to see a larger-scale map (of the one below) showing the truly huge size of Africa (http://0.tqn.com/d/goafrica/1/0/b/Q/true-size-of-africa.jpg).

https://upworthy-production.s3.amazonaws.com/nugget/4fbe8344ce3ef000030023c9/attachments/True_Size_Of_Africa.png

[cats_five]

Found this years ago illustrating best L/D. The speed varies a bit with configuration and wing loading.

Glider Performance Airspeeds (http://www.5c1.net/Glider%20Performance%20Airspeeds.htm)

[BA283]

That is an amazing graphic Old King Cole!!

[AOB9]

Apologies, slightly off topic;

@Arfur Dent "That's why in the old days on little aircraft we always aimed to land a third of the way up the runway on a PFL."

This is a very interesting point. As a PPL student I take on board all of the sound advice I can get. A veteran pilot told me recently to learn to think "what could go wrong here?" and (prepare to) act accordingly. An example he gave me was when approaching a runway with plenty of room consider landing one third down the length of the runway, an engine failure at the last moment suddenly won't be so bad.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120603&t=2&i=614786492&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=460&pl=300&r=2012-06-03T200929Z_2_CBRE8521IDD00_RTROPTP_0_NIGERIA-CRASH-NUMBERS

[Double Back]

IF the plane was flying too slow the last few 100 feet, it is no wonder. The guys in front saw no options any more, and in order to keep the impact speed as slow as possible they reduced the speed to close to stalling. Desperate basic human survival instinct may have been taking over from thousands of hours training. I would not even contemplate how I would have been reacting in a comparable hopeless situation. Even not with 23000 safe hours logged.
We have been trained in survivable scenarios, training for approaching death is senseless.

I never had any fear at my work, not even after reading reports about terrible aviation accidents, I always could "think" myself out in time from the chain of events when playing the scenario in my head.
But there are a few in which no one could have saved the day like with JAL123. Not good to think about this for too long as a prof, I lost a colleague who did and he lost his licence first and later his life to the bottle.
At least the last part of this flight looks like one with no options, hopefully we will ever learn how they got there and who or what was the cause.

[Dg800]

one could think fuel exhaustion...but there was a post crash fire reported

When you hit buildings there's lots of reasons for a post-crash fire, even if your tanks are empty, such as gas tanks used for cooking/heating, and if the houses are connected to the power grid there's lots of stuff that will throw sparks providing a very efficient source of ignition.
I'm obviously not implying that fuel starvation is what actually happened, just that we can't rule it out simply because of there being a fire afterwards. Fuel starvation is a common cause of multiple engine failure but is definitely not the only possible scenario.

[lomapaseo]

Has any confirmation been made yet as to whether this was a takeoff accident with an inability to return for a safe landing?

It makes a difference in the "what-if" scenarios that are being bandied about (bird strike, dual engine failure etc.).

A couple of pictures of the RH engine have shown up (mostly frontal views) but only the reverser showing on the LH engine.

I'm waiting to see more if anybody comes across some.

[eagleflier]

They were on approach to land in Lagos. That much is confirmed. What beats me is that as at 6pm yesterday, the flight manifest was all over social networks. Is this usually the case, is it released that early or was this a leak.

[eagleflier]

I've got a recording of an aircraft (OY-HSL) reporting the accident to Lagos ATC. Pilot:............ but we suspect there will be some injured people from the building into which they crashed"
ATC: wow. You suspect that the aircraft may have crashed and there will be no injured persons? Correction, no survivors but there may be injured persons from the building, confirm?
Pilot: affirm, the aircraft has crashed, we have confirmation of that and the only survivors we expect will come from the building into which they crashed

[The Ancient Geek]

Fuel starvation is a strong possibility, I dont have information on the MD83 but an aircraft of this size could have around a ton of ullage which is more than enough to account for the limited post crash fire.

[Christodoulidesd]

Very disappointing:

"Rescue and Recovery works are hampered by a large crowd gathered at the crash site, the rescue forces complaining the residents have taken over the crash site. The works are difficult by concrete buildings in danger of collapsing as result of impact by the aircraft and the resulting need to take these buildings down first and are further hampered by lack of equipment to move the aircraft debris."

From Crash: Dana MD83 at Lagos on Jun 3rd 2012, following Mayday call collided with power line on approach (http://avherald.com/h?article=4508fb60&opt=0)

Just view those lynch photos...

[Wannabe Flyer]

The Dana air website is very vague about the size of their fleet. However from the looks on it they seem to have just a couple of MD 83 or probably just the one that went down. At the moment all flights are cancelled today leading me to think they had this one aircraft only which was being flogged on all the routes. That said would take a good close look at their operations, flight times and maintenance schedules.

Anyone have feedback on the size of the fleet?

[slowto280]

From unknown newswire:

'Sunday's crash of the Dana Airline aircraft onthe Abuja-Lagos route has once again exposed the country's shoddy responseservice, as eye witnesses claimed that it took over 45 minutes before the firstrescue team, the police, arrived.

In that time, scores of looters had ravaged the crash site, picking off thepersonal effects of the victims. All occupants of the plane, made up of 153passengers and six crew members, died in the crash.

"People picked phones and things like that before when the fire was stillnot much," said an eyewitness, who did not want his name published.

The looters eventually gave way as the police arrived the scene, afterstruggling through the hundreds of onlookers that had appeared at the scene."

[theoradical]

Dana Air had 4 MD-83: the 5N-RAM (which crashed), 5N-JAI, 5N-SRI adn the 5N-SAI.

[deSitter]

The map with civilized countries superposed on Africa is ludicrously inaccurate.

[worldpilot]

Slowto280, not a surprise to hear that looters were on the scene. The lack of perspectives, couple with appalling conditions, make individuals in Nigeria very desperate and ready to do anything to survive. It is ridiculous but has its own root causes.

[ironbutt57]

Slowto280, not a surprise to hear that looters were on the scene. The lack of perspectives, couple with appalling conditions, make individuals in Nigeria very desperate and ready to do anything to survive. It is ridiculous but has its own root causes.

When NWA 255 crashed on take-off at KDTW (Detroit Michigan USA), the first responders encountered looters who had serious burns on their hands from turning over burning wreckage and grabbing what they could...and this crash was just immediately past the airport boundary.....in a "civilized" country...

[Old King Coal]

deSitter wrote: "The map with civilized countries superposed on Africa is ludicrously inaccurate."

[Whilst strongly wishing to avoid thread-creep] Err, 'ludicrously inaccurate' in what respect exactly (e.g. in it's proportions; or in some other metric which you haven't mentioned)?... and if you don't believe Africa's sheer size, might I suggest referring to a globe (http://www.1ststoptravelstore.com/Cram%20Globes/CRAM_Lisbon_illuminated_world_globe_desktop.jpg) and having a good look for yourself (it's genuinely quite astounding!)... or is it perhaps that (to you) the world looks like this (http://turcanu.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/monde_us.jpg) ? ;)

[Twin2040]

Had the job offer to go DANA a while ago - descreibed as a exotic location by Aeroprofessional - friend went, guess his heading home - has been unpaid for 3 months - old airframes, runned by Indians in Western Africa, saw DANA MD83 in SAW / Istanbul for heavy maintainance 3 weeks ago and it goes on ...... if - as rumours says - LH ex. AA MD driver - must be proper trained and skilled - rapports will blame him - none of the above - contract flying.

[deSitter]

OKC, I can read, and interpret, a map :)

[aterpster]

ironbutt:

When NWA 255 crashed on take-off at KDTW (Detroit Michigan USA), the first responders encountered looters who had serious burns on their hands from turning over burning wreckage and grabbing what they could...and this crash was just immediately past the airport boundary.....in a "civilized" country...

Apparently you've never been to Detroit.

[deSitter]

aterpster, I'm pretty familiar with this incident, and I don't remember any such report. NW crashed on a highway just outside the perimeter of the airport itself in an area not zoned for living space. There were no people around to loot anything.

[Old King Coal]

Seemingly some details (pics (http://www.naijapals.com/modules/naijapals/nigeria/topic,111124.0.html)) of the crew and also pic (http://tinyurl.com/Dana-air-crash-blackbox) (scroll down) of what could be one of the 'recorders'.

[funfly]

BBC News:
On 11 May, a similar Dana Air plane - possibly the same one - developed a technical problem and was forced to make an emergency landing in Lagos, our correspondent says.

[lomapaseo]

aterpster, I'm pretty familiar with this incident, and I don't remember any such report. NW crashed on a highway just outside the perimeter of the airport itself in an area not zoned for living space. There were no people around to loot anything.


Many pieces of the plane ended up on a highway and underpass. Lots of cars stopped on highway and people streamed down the embankments to the wreckage

never heard the story about looters though

[worldpilot]

I'm curious if airline operators in Nigeria are allowed to fly into European airports.

If not, what are the reasons behind these circumstances.

[lomapaseo]

Seemingly some details (pics (http://www.naijapals.com/modules/naijapals/nigeria/topic,111124.0.html)) of the crew and also pic (http://tinyurl.com/Dana-air-crash-blackbox) (scroll down) of what could be one of the 'recorders'.


I don't recognize the recorder but thanks for the pic.

However I do feel uneasy about posting pics of the crew in the same link

[EDMJ]

According to Danish media (Politiken), the crew of Danish helicopter (presumably the one mentioned in #65?) in the area heard "dual engine failure" from the MD83 crew on the radio.

[sevenstrokeroll]

first off, I've never heard of looting at the site of the Northwest MD80 crash in Detroit...and there was one survivor, a little girl with painted finger nails...wasn't there/

anyway...some have been using the term fuel exhaustion and some fuel starvation...

please remember that fuel exhaustion means there aint no more fuel onboard the plane (useable0

fuel starvation means there is useable fuel aboard, but for some, as yet unknown reason, it was not feeding the engines

when I made my scenario posting, I took into account that perhaps these planes were not particularly well maintained...can you imagine switching crossfeed valve on, then off, but the cable moving the valve broke somewhere along the way to not allow closing the crossfeed? couple that with either bad boost pumps, or not properly switched pumps or certain check valve cracking pressure being incorrect?


We all know that having two engines should prevent BOTH from quitting at the same time without OUTSIDE factors (birds ) ...so what happened?

also...if you really know you are going down...no hope for relighting the engines, "stalling down" shouldn't be the option you take, as landing with the plane under control is more likely to produce survivors.

[deSitter]

The engine has suffered very little damage and the thrust reverser bucket is nearly intact - must have been a pretty gentle set down.

[ironbutt57]

Apparently you've never been to Detroit.

It was my domicile when that happened, Just responding to the vague implication the looting happened because it was Nigeria, not the case....

[pudoc]

But I thought that's what the BA 777 crew did to avoid a road and petrol station?

[RiSq]

But I thought that's what the BA 777 crew did to avoid a road and petrol station?

I'm pretty sure that in the time they had, all they could do was make a flap adjustment and fortunately, it got them passed the Antenna's. I think without the flap adjustment, they still would have made it passed the Petrol station and A30, but would of hit the Antenna's which would probably resulted in further damage, maybe even break-up.

I use that petrol station nearly ever day and it's a good place to watch landings, especially when the weather is a bit lively. Still, I'm glad I weren't there that day as I may have needed a change of undies!

Just wanted to say thanks to the replies of my previous posts. My thought was based on the fact they had enough speed but the zigzagging would reduce it. I didn't factor in that they were already approaching a stall window and the zig-zag was them trying to control it as someone else mentioned.

I was aware though, that it would be better to attempt a controlled crash-landing with correct speeds than simply drop from the sky like a stone.

Thanks for your insights and I'll continue to read with interest.

[Oba1kanobe]

On final to RWY 18L, Lagos, Nigeria (DNMM)











http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss92/TonyWilliams/PrimeRealEstate18L.jpg?t=1244003303

[pattern_is_full]

Regarding BA 38:

Initially it was the AP that attempted to "stretch the glide" - trying to hold the glideslope without enough power. Which resulted in a classic airspeed decay. The pilots didn't have much to work with by the time they took control at 108 kts.

In a micro-sense, one may be able to trade a little speed for a little distance or height at the last moment - enough to make a difference clearing a hedge, ditch, 8-foot antenna or a car on a roadway. But BA 38 didn't make the runway, and touched down stalled, with no control authority for the FO to make a flare (although he tried). Fortunately, soft soil and the snapping of the gear cushioned the impact just enough for the souls on board.

In the present accident, sadly, that minor amount of last-minute control would, from the pix, only have allowed a choice of which floor of the building the plane would hit.

If one is above best glide speed at the instant of power failure (or any point thereafter), one can gain some glide range by immediately pulling the nose up to reduce speed to the best glide speed.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

It's not just Africa where you get these operators.

MK airlines was run from the UK and had a number of major accidents disproportional to its size.

One Two Go/Orient Thai also fits that mold and still operates out of BKK despite the tragedy that occurred at Phuket.

This sounds like a classic case of empty tanks to me.:=

I sometimes wonder why a flight crew are prepared to risk their lives on a daily basis for cheapskate airlines.

[ironbutt57]

Lot of fire for empty tanks

[cjmvejby]

I have flown a little in Nigeria and I must say that fuel contamination is something that does come to mind readily.

Also, sadly enough, I considered Dana being one of the best run operations in Nigeria.

[221340]

Great graphic!!

[Capt Groper]

This would be the only plausible explanation judging by past accidents, BA LHR & CX HKG and summary others over the years.

Empty tanks, not lb, kg, L and US gal uplift calculation, differing additions = half the required quantity surely couldn't happen again!

[lomapaseo]

Empty tanks, not lb, kg, L and US gal uplift calculation, differing additions = half the required quantity surely couldn't happen again!

I still haven't seen any clear indication of what the intended range was before it crashed. I had thought that it was such a short time that fuel exhaustion was out of the question.

Of course the rumour of double engine failure is just that and it still leaves all kinds of possibilities including slow spool up in a tight spot.

Things would make a lot more sense if we had knowledge of the exact flight plan and regime (was it coming or going or returning)

[capt767]

The aircraft was landing in Lagos on a flight from Abuja. For some reason, there has been confusion about that route regarding if it was the other way round. I know it was landing in Lagos because I have friends who lost several relatives on that flight.

There are stories about that particular aircraft having problems in the past and shouldn't have been flying. A staff of the airline said the plane had been having hydraulic issues on previous legs. The engineers would fix it but the problem would come up again. The engineers suggested the plane shouldn't be flown but the Indian management that runs the airline said the plane must fly :ugh:. I'm waiting to see what the NCAA (Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority) would come up with in regards to a proper investigation.

This is a link to the staffs report : CHANNELSTV AUDIO: " We Were Forced To Fly The Faulty Plane"-Dana Airline Official | Sahara Reporters (http://saharareporters.com/video/channelstv-audio-we-were-forced-fly-faulty-plane-dana-airline-official)

If the story from the staff is true, its sad to think the management would put profit before the lives of human beings.

[The Ancient Geek]

Lot of fire for empty tanks


Actually a rather small fire when you consider about a ton of ullage.

[newscaster]

This could have happened with the British Airways 777 too, they were lucky.

[Machaca]

Engine images:

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam042.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam043.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam044.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam051.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam045.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam050.jpg

http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n385/motidog/LOS-Adam052.jpg

[Vulcancruiser]

Just a fwiw this plane had the long range AUX tank in the forward pit. Doesn't mean there was any gas in it of course. This one is about as bad as it gets, and even worse if its a lack of gas situation. Odds of a double engine failure on the DC series are ten billion to one.

[deSitter]

Very possibly just a mistake in fuel loading.

One thing, a witness described "zigzag" motion, by which I assumed he meant the wings were rocking as they might near stall, and that implies they were rather empty of fuel (to dramatically rock to and fro to the point a bystander would make a note of it).

[henra]

Sad thing.

Looking at some basic metrics.
Apparantly they reported technical problems 11nm before threshold. Looking at a map of the region that would put them roughly over the shoreline if approaching Runway 18 straight in when things unfolded. At that time they would have roughly been at 3500ft.
If the reports are correct they crashed 1nm short of the VOR which itself is ~3/4 nm from the runway threshold. So they probably roughly dropped 3500ft in 8-9nm.
That would correspond to a Glide ratio of 15-16:1
Optimum L/D and thus glide ratio of an MD80 should be somewhere around 12:1.
This would indicate that the power loss was possibly not complete at least at the beginning, as the config might not have been fully clean and a L/D of 15 would be asking too much of an MD80 anyway. Looking at the map reaching the VOR and the grass area behind it would have been their only chance of not crashing into buildings once past 4-5nm of the shoreline.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place comes to mind...
If reports are correct it is sad they came 1nm short.

[Ye Olde Pilot]

Rocking from side to side is also a technique for getting the dregs from the tanks to try and refire the engines.

[videoguy]

Apparently, the aircraft were formally used by Alaska Airlines.

Aircraft was previously registered to Alaskan Airlines with FAA N-number N944AS. The Construction Number (CN) of the plane was 53019/1783.

Minor incident occurred on the August 20th 2006 and is listed in NTSB records as incident LAX06IA301.

[Stuart Dawson]

What were the weather conditions at the time of the crash?

[ediks]

Henra, if approaching the airport over the shoreline from the South, you tend to be about 14 miles from the airport but that then means an approach to runway 36R/L which isn't allowed.
Take offs can be made in a northerly direction if traffic permits it but approaches are always from the North.

Oba1kanobe, LAG to 18L is 6.7miles

[ironbutt57]

@ lomeopaso...unfortunate but true...:(

After Plane Crash Rescuers In Detroit Find Job Doesn't End - NYTimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/23/weekinreview/after-plane-crash-rescuers-in-detroit-find-job-doesn-t-end.html)

[Wannabe Flyer]

"Dana Air had 4 MD-83: the 5N-RAM (which crashed), 5N-JAI, 5N-SRI adn the 5N-SAI."

Thanks for that information. Seems to be an extremely religious owner registering all the aircraft with Holy names!!!

Sad but it seems DANA is but one subsidiary of a large company run by family with little or no experience in this field. With all the feedback coming in would not be surprised if cut corners and half ass work to save a few $$ comes back as the cause.

[212man]

Looking at a map of the region that would put them roughly over the shoreline if approaching Runway 18 straight in when things unfolded.

What?? :confused::confused: An approach to RWY18 would be from the North of the field - the coast is to the South (well it was the last time I flew there!)

[thepotato232]

Not to interrupt the old back-and-forth regarding the pedigree of manned flight, but it still strikes this uninformed observer as rather a lot of post-crash fire for an aircraft completely out of fuel.

For what little it's worth as one who briefly plied our trade in the skies of Africa, I wish God bless to all involved. A shame this board is incapable of having an honest discussion of the circumstances without the usual locker room talk coming to the fore.

[drive73]

The first neandrathol to hurl himself over a cliff would probably stake claim to the first uncontrolled flight, controlled flight is kind of a requirement.

Lots of fire after crashing into structures will happen fuel or no fuel. They didn't crash in a field. Plenty of stuff which will burn in a couple of buildings. Fuel contamination or starvation seems a logical cause if indeed it was a double engine failure.

[Mr A Tis]

According to the Dana Air web-site, in addition to the 2 pilots & 4 cabin crew, this flight also carried a flight engineer. Would there be any specific reason for an MD80 to have a flight engineer on board?

[ironbutt57]

Probably a "flying spanner" in case any maintenance action needed at a station where no engineer available??

[hetfield]

http://avherald.com/img/dana_md83_5n-ram_lagos_120603_map1.jpg

Looks like a river between LAG VOR and crash site.....

[drive73]

Exactly butt. In my experience around the world mechanics are called engineers most places.

[captjns]

Dana Air is owned by an Indian Company with a reasonable track record.

No mention of the nationality of the Skipper... though the F/O was Indian, and the Flight Mechanic was Indonesian.

Full read on the story from the Times of India.

Nigeria jet’s engines failed; toll 193 - The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Nigeria-jets-engines-failed-toll-193/articleshow/13831428.cms)

[AmericanFlyer]

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/international/mfn%20landing%20gear%20AP.jpgOnlookers discover a destroyed landing gear from the MD-83. It was still warm to the touch, according to the photographer. (AP).
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/international/mfn%20overview%20R.jpghttp://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/international/mfn%20tail%20R.jpg http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/international/mfn%20tail%20R.jpg
Onlookers watch as a crane lifts the now-separated tail from the impact crater. (Reuters).
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/international/mfn%20firehouse2%20AP.jpg

[AmericanFlyer]

Officials find data, voice recorder in Nigeria plane crash - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/africa/nigeria-plane-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t3)

[Pali]

Vertical stabilizers are in a "nose up" position. Is it usual that control surfaces keep their last position after the impact?

I can imagine there will be "Terrain ahead - PULL UP" sound recorded on CVR and I wonder if on the photo we are witnessing the result of desperate last effort to save the day? :(

Edit: Ooops, horizontal stabilizer is meant of course...

[Peter H]

"Their operational licence has been suspended until we carry out their recertification," spokesman Sam Adurogboye told the BBC.

BBC News - Lagos plane crash: Nigeria suspends Dana Air licence (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18330586)

[SeniorDispatcher]

but it still strikes this uninformed observer as rather a lot of post-crash fire for an aircraft completely out of fuel.

How is it known that the aircraft was out of fuel? As mentioned previously elsewhere back in the thread, there is a distinction between fuel starvation (as in having fuel in the tanks but an interuption occuring in fuel flow to the engines) and fuel exhaustion (as in the aircraft having consumed all its fuel supply).

[ironbutt57]

Inaccurate fuel gauges? Drip stick miscalculation? FDR results will answer many questions!

@Pali, most MD 80 series aircraft I have observed on the ground seem to have a rather pronounced nose up stab position prior to takeoff and during landing, could be a visual illusion not sore....

[west lakes]

A comment on the BBC site suggests it hit a printing works as well as house. A printing works suggests paper and ink both of which are going to burn well irrespective of fuel on the aircraft

[henra]

What?? :confused::confused: An approach to RWY18 would be from the North of the field - the coast is to the South (well it was the last time I flew there!)

OK, looks like I got a wrong understanding of the direction of the approach then.
Going by the street names they mentioned for the crash location and the fact they crashed near the VOR (which is South of the Rwy) I was just assuming they crashed South of the airport!?
Did they crash near the NDB then instead of the VOR?
Are we sure they came in from the North?

[sevenstrokeroll]

VERTICAL Stabilizers nose up? HUH? It would be the horizontal stabilizer not VERTICAL.

IF you are slowing for approach, the trim is more nose up ...that simple.

if someone would like to summerize what is really KNOWN as of now...that simplifies the thread.

someone did say something about zig zagging...could it be the result of ONE engine going out and the crew not responding correctly?

we all train for engine out on takeoff...but engine out in descent/approach can be very tricky if you aren't UP for it.

[blablabla]

Henra give it up...its not important...the VOR is not south of the RWY they were approaching RWY 18L which means they were heading south ie coming from the NORTH over the Land. The LAG VOR is 6.7 NM before RWY 18L and there are NO NDB`s in Nigeria. Although they may be depicted on charts.

[221340]

Have the crew names been released?

[henra]

Henra give it up...its not important...the VOR is not south of the RWY they were approaching RWY 18L which means they were heading south ie coming from the NORTH over the Land. The LAG VOR is 6.7 NM before RWY 18L and there are NO NDB`s in Nigeria. Although they may be depicted on charts.

Ahhh, slowly but finally I got it. Was 'chasing' the wrong VOR. Now the distances mentioned in different articles also start to make sense.
Thanks for the correction.
Then you can scrap my glide ratios. We are rather talking flying brick ratio then (8-10:1) also matching better to a complete double flameout in possibly less than best glide speed and config.

[blablabla]

We have no idea what ALT they were at also when they lost power etc. The last clearance for APP for 18L is 2200` and i`m sure knowing the APP controllers they would have cleared them etc to 2200` and to establish for 18L in order to try and expedite them if its true a MAYDAY had been declared.
Anyway a really sad event for aviation.
I hope the investigation is quick and a cause becomes known.

[hetfield]

Referring my post #117, was there a chance to put the aircraft into the river, a la Sully?

Thx

[Carbon Bootprint]

Have the crew names been released? From the full story at the CNN link (http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/05/world/africa/nigeria-plane-crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t3) posted by AmericanFlyer on Page 6:
The pilot declared an emergency as the plane was on final approach to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and witnesses said it appeared the plane was having engine trouble, said Oscar Wason, Dana Air's director of operations.

Wason identified the pilot as Peter Waxtan, an American, and the first officer as Mike Mahendra, from India.

Waxtan had joined Dana Air on March 26. He was a captain for Spirit Airlines based in South Florida from 1997 to 2009, the airline said.

He also flew for Falcon Air Express, a charter airline in Miami, CNN affiliate WPEC (http://www.cbs12.com/) reported.

[corona12]

I personally knew and flew with Pete Waxton. He was a superb pilot. The accident investigation will not show pilot error other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[wings1011]

On the MD 80 if you are heavy for landing the aircraft is always very nose heavy resulting in many times landing with almost full nose up at the trim - completely normal for the type .

[Capot]

Then you can scrap my glide ratios.

Guess what, I think most of us had had a good laugh at your posts already. Why not stop digging the hole deeper?

I come here, without much expectation, for some informed guesswork on the grounds that there's nothing else likely to come out for a long time. For example, speculation by MD 80 series pilots and/or engineers who know Lagos, with recent experience in both, would be interesting and we would understand its limitations.

Could the MS Flight Sim crowd and other ill-informed, ill-qualified and self-appointed accident investigators please start another thread in Jetblast?

[Lonewolf_50]

FWIW, henra has made thoughtful and valuable contributions here to Pprune discussions on a variety of topics. Not fair to denigrate him thusly. :=

That said, I agree that what you seek (input from Lagos familiar and MD-80 familiar folk) is for my money the best info (early on) to give those of us interested a context and understanding of the challenges the crew faced.

[PJ2]

Agree Lonewolf_50...Henra's contributions over the years are worth reading.

In fact it's a brave poster here who admits he-she doesn't know something or has made a mistake.

Part of joining the conversation is knowing when to be quietly patient, suspending judgement in favour of curiosity. Our instant-communication texting world has taught us to judge very swiftly and without a lot of thought, as though we actually know who we're talking to here.

[Capot]

I stand admonished and apologise to Henra.....

[LOS]

The cause of the crash on a sunny, clear Sunday afternoon remains unknown. The flight's captain radioed Lagos as the aircraft approached and declared an emergency, saying both of the MD-83's engines had failed, Aviation Minister Stella Oduah said Wednesday. The plane crashed minutes later.Ogboro and others declined to speculate what could have made both of the aircraft's Pratt and Whitney engines go out in the last minutes of the flight. The aircraft, manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas which was later bought by Boeing, requires a flight engineer to manage the fuel supply while in operation rather than having a computer monitoring it like on newer aircraft.


Bad reporting? Never heard of an engineer on MD83s.

[lomapaseo]

Bad reporting? Never heard of an engineer on MD83s.

Could have been sitting in the jump seat with some tools and manuals to fix a deferal.

Probably wasn't wearing epalutes

definitions definitions

[Sir George Cayley]

Were they carrying a turnaround engineer? Is this what the article meant?

[henra]

I stand admonished and apologise to Henra.....

Apologies accepted and at the same time admitting that you were right with your criticism. Guesswork based on unreliable/missing information from my side. Should have kept quiet and will now try to do so at least until some really reliable and more detailed information is avaible.

[40&80]

Well here is a guess for you chaps....The Captain was flying and "between them" they managed to shut off the fuel to the wrong engine... and did not notice or if they did they were unable to recover the situation at their altitude in the time available.
Be interesting to see from the CVR who was talking from the aircraft to ATC and if he was also managing the situation and also flying it at the same time manually....interesting to see also exactly how good the challenge response to an emergency shut down drill was being performed and what is the SOP response to an abnormal drill and check list policy with this airline...
i.e. who fly's the plane and who manages the situation and who does the drill and how he is monitored...if at all!
Clear and precise and disciplined CRM responses by a two man crew with an American Captain who is newly flying with an Indian and also possibly an Indonesian in the cockpit... all of whom may not have Queens English as their first priority in an emergency situation would probably not have helped.
All flying licences and submitted experience hopefully will be checked and found correct.
One can only hope this will be properly investigated and some good will come out of this sad loss of life...

[Lonewolf_50]

40&80:

From your post I digest the following:

Hypothesis is that touble with one engine leads to a set of actions in the cockpit that ends up with the "good engine" being inadvertently secured rather than the bad one. As I have seen a similar thing happen IRL, early 90's mishap in the Navy, and watched more than one crew make that error in sims that I ran back in the day, it will be interesting to see if the facts as found align with your estimate.

There is also a chance of various fuel flow malfunctions arriving at once, but I'd need to take a look at the MD 80 fuel system schematic to try and figure out how flow goes awry ... presuming that there is usable fuel to move about in the first place. ;)

Hope the FDR info becomes available in due course.

[Dixie]

The American Captain was a well respected captain that flew with both Falcon Air Express and Spirit Airlines in south Florida. Both airlines have their employees wearing black ribbons on their wings.

[NaijaPilot]

"Later Jun 5th the airline added the captain had a total flying experience of 18,500 hours, thereof 7,100 hours on the MD-83, the first officer had a flying experience of 1,110 hours total and 800 hours on type. The aircraft had accumulated more than 35,000 cycles and 60,000 flight hours, its last A-check was completed on May 30th 2012 with the next C-check required until September 2012, the aircraft was in possession of a valid certificate of airworthiness following the previous C-check."

[hetfield]

@naija

Don't understand. What's your point?

[exeng]

Well here is a guess for you chaps....The Captain was flying and "between them" they managed to shut off the fuel to the wrong engine... and did not notice or if they did they were unable to recover the situation at their altitude in the time available.


How about: here is a guess for you chaps....The Captain was flying and the fuel was contaminated.

How about: here is a guess for you chaps....The First officer was flying and they had a birdstike in both engines.

How about: here is a guess for you chaps....The Captain was flying and and the guages were in pounds not kilos.

How about: here is a guess for you chaps....The First officer was flying and the fuel was mismanaged.

How about: here is a guess for you chaps....The Captain was flying and maintenance had been carried out at some time prior to the flight that was identical to both engines.

How about: here is a guess for you chaps....We wait for the outcome of the investigation.

[hetfield]

@exeng

Spot on:D

[Northbeach]

The aircraft, manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas which was later bought by Boeing, requires a flight engineer to manage the fuel supply while in operation rather than having a computer monitoring it like on newer aircraft.

If the author (who was not noted, that I saw) meant to imply that a "flight engineer" was a normal crew member and necessary to monitor the fuel supply on the type they could not be more wrong. Dismal "reporting" really.

The DC9 - MD80 is certified as a two pilot crew, not three. If memory serves me correctly the DC9 was the first U.S. transport category jet designed and certified for a 2 pilot crew.

The accident aircraft had a dual channel fuel quantity indicating system that fed real time fuel quantity indications to the instrument display in the cockpit. The zero fuel weight may be preloaded in the instrument as well so the instrument displays real time aircraft weight. I have no knowledge of whether the fuel quantity indicating guage and related system was functional on the accident flight. But to imply that a third crew person is necessary to monitor fuel quantity on the MD80 flight deck is nonsense.

[sevenstrokeroll]

ok...if the fuel was contaminated....it is MORE Likelythat a problem would have happened on takeoff, not landing...takeoff is using alot of fuel...approach, not so much.

so I don't think it was contaminated fuel

AS to shutting down the wrong engine's fuel lever...well, its possible, but I will tell you this...if one engine quit on short final, I would just land and not do the checklist for engine out...I mean, its not like you have to feather a prop on a jet!!!!!!!! IF it were a fire, that would be different of course.

The fuel system is really quite elegant and does NOT need a flight engineer. There is one failure mode which can be almost disasterous, but it would require rotten mx.

Two engines out at the same time....very unlikely....and yes the DC9 was the first jet transport certified without a flight engineer...at least in the USA.

IF this guy had 8000 plus hours in type, I really don't think it will come down as pilot error. The whole DC9 series is so elegantly simple (KISS) and so reliable...provided MX is good. And anything you do, like select crossfeed to balance tanks, an experienced pilot knows that you have to watch it and you put something like a checklist between the throttles to remind you to close the valve...provided the cable is well maintained between handle and valve.

[The Ancient Geek]

A double engine failure is extremely unlikely without some external cause such as the dreaded flock of geese. The geometry of the rear mounted engines close to the fuselage makes this less likely than with conventional underwing engines but it could have happened.

A lack of fuel to the engines seems to be a more credible theory, the normal nose-high attitude during approach would cause fuel to move to the rear of the tanks exposing the pickup points if the levels were already marginal.

If we assume (probably wrongly) that there was indeed a fuel shortage the question simplifies - did they depart with the correct fuel load and if so this implies a loss due to excessive consumption or leakage.

Could the explanation be as simple as skimping on reserves to stay within MTOW under the prevailing hot & high conditions with a full load ? Hopefully no operator would allow this.

[sevenstrokeroll]

the idea of uncovering a fuel port due to low fuel is examined in the aircraft manual. while I didn't fly the MD80, I did fly the earlier, shorter DC9...simply put if the fuel is less than 500 lbs in each wing tank a go around must NOT be attempted due to unporting of the fuel intakes.

even attempting an approach with less than 1000lbs in each wing tank is to be addressed as something to be dealt with in the QRH. And a go around with this amount of fuel is to be done with a shallow pitch up and not the normal pitch attitude.

having said this...even with 45 minutes of fuel, the total fuel on board would be closer to 5000plus pounds total (2500lbs per wing)and you wouldn't be close to a problem.

In this type of plane, you use the center tanks first (except for takeoff)

[BobnSpike]

Aliens. It was caused by aliens. There is no other possible explanation. Except maybe cats. Or goats. Never trust goats; they'll kill you in your sleep.

[cjhants]

Posts 139,148.
Bad reporting, or misunderstanding of what the reporter was told. From my memory of ground engineering on DC9s and MD80s (nearly 30 years ago), the engineeer on the ground had to manually set the fuel valves for each tank. So if the captain wanted 10 tons bulk, I had to manually set 4250 for each wing with the other 1.5 tonnes in the centre. I think the MD80s had 4350 in each wing.
On later types like the Airbus, we just set the bulk fuel, and the system sorted out where to put the fuel.
This may have been what the reporter was supposed to have printed. The DC9 flight deck is pretty cosy for 2 let alone 3.

[ciderman]

Heard today from contact in Nigeria that airport closed for 2 hours because of transit of President's wife. Plane held for some time. Anyone else heard this and if true could commercial/diplomatic pressures have resulted in running out of fuel? How else can you reasonably explain a double engine failure like this. Hardly a 777 after a 10 hour flight across Russia!

[AmericanFlyer]

UPDATE 2-Nigeria plane reported engine failure | Reuters (http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/06/nigeria-crash-idINL5E8H69PH20120606)

States that recorders have been sent abroad for decoding and that the pilot reported dual engine failure.

[capt767]

That's total bullocks. Read the article on that and its not true. The first lady wasn't even flying the day of the crash so there's no way the airspace could have been closed and even if there's a VIP in the area, I believe an emergency call is given priority over the VIP.

[srobarts]

Heard today from contact in Nigeria that airport closed for 2 hours because of transit of President's wife. Plane held for some time. Anyone else heard this and if true could commercial/diplomatic pressures have resulted in running out of fuel?
Back in 95/96 I was working in Lagos and frequently took domestic flights. It was not unusual to be held waiting on the tarmac before boarding to see if there was enough fuel for all the domestic flights. If a minister was travelling to Abuja that flight got priority! Aero Contractors flights to Warri always inspired confidence, can't say as much for the others..

[thehighlander959]

I worked in Nigeria a couple of times for different oil companies. I used to fly regularly from Lagos to Port Harcourt at least once and maybe twice a week. There are definitely some carriers who fly better equipment than others. There were some real rust buckets flying out of Lagos.
I had several very poor landings at PH and Lagos especially when I flew Virgin Nigeria. Not all the poor landings were due to weather conditions.

We as a company after many complaints switched to Aero Contractors because of our concerns, more expensive but inherantly safer and a lot more professional.

[NIJASEA]

The only time the airport is closed for VIP movement is during the Arrival/Departure of the President and Vice-president and no other person. so the first Lady travelling is not even close to a logical theory. Any pilot who decides after losing an engine to hold and wait for the airport to open should not be flying in the first place. Emergencies take precedence over any other aircraft movement...

[ediks]

Does anybody know what time the airplane took off from Abuja?

[ciderman]

I boew to your superior knowledge. Only passed on what I had heard but obviously no foundation.

[capt767]

I boew to your superior knowledge. Only passed on what I had heard but obviously no foundation.


I'm sorry if it seemed like I was rude to you regarding your post, that wasn't my intention. I probably chose the wrong words. It was just upsetting that someone actually wrote that article in the first place and it spread like wild fire in that country. Once again I apologise.

[worldpilot]

Why should an airport be closed because the president is using the airport?

I consider this to be a strong evidence that the airport lack appropriate security level adequate for such an international facility. :E:E:E:E:E

This is weird.

WP

[ciderman]

No offence taken. My contact sounded credible because he is an educated man and was embarrassed to say that it was the President's wife not the man himself. He is ashamed that even a head of state can close an airport at will. Hopefully the truth will out and things improve. Sorry one of your countrymen, who by all accounts was professional and well respected had to pay with his life for any African shortcomings.

[LOS]

The flight taxied and took off into the dusty air outside of Abuja at 2:54 p.m., about 40 minutes later than scheduled. The plane banked and began heading south toward Lagos.
It remains unclear exactly what went wrong, but at 3:42 p.m., pilot Peter Waxton (http://www.seattlepi.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=news&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Peter+Waxton%22), an American from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, radioed Lagos' control tower and declared an emergency, saying both of the Pratt & Whitney engines that hang just below the plane's tail had failed. The MD-83 lost altitude, still miles from the airfield and surrounded by the sprawl of Lagos, a state home to more than 17.5 million.

Read more: Nigeria plane crash hit all social classes - seattlepi.com (http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Nigeria-plane-crash-hit-all-social-classes-3616701.php#ixzz1x8RsaVcp)

[ediks]

If they took off at 2:54, that sounds about right for a flight from Abuja to Lagos.
An article had earlier suggested that the approach at Lagos was delayed because the plane had been flying slower than usual because they had suffered an engine failure earlier in the flight.
That doesn't seem likely with an enroute time of 48/49 minutes

Bold highlights are mine:

Home » News & Reports » News

Dana Flight 992 Tragedy: Pilot First Asked to Land On Longer Runway After First Engine Failed
Posted: June 6, 2012 - 17:35

Crashed MD 83

Captain Peter Waxtan was flying the plane
By SaharaReporters, New York
"Air traffic controllers have told Saharareporters confidentially that the crashed airliner Dana aircraft most likely had one failed engine long before the pilot declared an emergency. Multiple sources confirmed that the pilot had requested to land on Murtala Muhammad Airport’s longer runway 18R before calling air controllers back a few minutes later to report a total emergency.



They believe that second call was most probably when the second engine failed. The aircraft crashed about seven nautical miles from the local airport.



One source further explained that the MD 83 plane was overloaded with passengers and luggage to the extent that when the first engine failed, the pilots urgently reduced speed to enable the flight land safely on the longer and better runway, an action that led the flight to an extra 20 minutes delay before crashing at 3:43p.m. It had been billed to land at 3:21p.m. (Note this is scheduled arrival time for an on time departure)



Our sources stated that the drastic reduction in thrust was the undoing of the pilot, given the heavy pay load. To underscore their point that the operators of the jet knew of its mechanical troubles, one of our sources said the jet conducted a short flight test between the Lagos and Ibadan airport on Saturday, apparently to prove to regulators that the jet was “airworthy”.



Several employees of the Dana airlines have publicly stated that the owners were aware as early as Sunday that the jet had mechanical troubles, as it had struggled on a flight to Calabar, but the operators forced the crew to fly it anyway, obviously with an eye on maximizing profit.



Residents that witnessed the crash at Iju Agege area of Lagos have also told Saharareporters that they watched as the pilot seemed to struggle to give the aircraft a final thrust of flight power before the crash, which killed everyone on board.



But speaking for the first time officially today, Dana Air's Director of Flight Operations, Captain Oscar Wason, suggested that a "bird strike" may have caused the crash.



Appearing on Silver Bird TV in Lagos, he said the management of the grounded airline found remnants of birds in one of the engines of the crashed plane.



According to him, “I don’t know what could have been responsible for the crash, but this morning we found remnants of birds in one of the engines.”



He noted that birds were a problem in Nigeria he has experienced several times. “We have bird strikes and it might have been that a mass of birds went through the engine and caused it to lose power.”



However, he said the investigations must be left to come out with an answer. “We have found the voice recorder and that has to be sent to either the UK or Washington. I am planning to travel out myself so that we can found out what is the real cause of the accident.”



It will take several months, if not years, to arrive at the real cause of the fatal crash of Dana Air 992, as Nigeria typically relies on American investigators to unravel the cause of airline accidents."

[Shell Management]

The Nigerians have spent a lot of cash on a data recorder lab (naturally bought from a Canadian company;)). So naturally the recorders will be flown out of the country:ugh:

[rcsa]

There's a lot of politics going on in Nigeria at the moment, (in brief, to do with whether the incumbent is entitled to stand for office again, and, if he does, what that will mean for the delicate balance between the Muslim North and the Christian South). One of the weapons being wielded against the President standing again is hostile reporting against the First Lady.

Recently she did cause the whole of the smart part of Lagos (Victoria Island) to come to a standstill by having the military close off a main arterial road while she held a fund-raiser in a swanky hotel. This was leaped upon as an example of Presidential/ first family excess and general contempt for the population at large.

I would hazard a guess that the Nigerian political rumour mill (which, as anyone knows Nigeria will confirm, makes this exalted forum read like a POH) jumped to find a way of blaming the President or his close associates for this accident, and settled upon the story that Mrs Goodluck Jonathan ordered Abuja (or Lagos) airports closed.

The fact that no facts were present in this story would not stop it reaching every corner of the land in a matter of minutes, and subsequently turn up here.

[kenhughes]

CHICAGO (AP) — A man whose wife died when a Nigerian commercial airliner crashed into a crowded neighborhood in that country's largest city filed a lawsuit in the United States on Thursday that blames the accident, at least in part, on U.S. companies that designed, manufactured and sold the ill-fated plane.

An American attorney filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago on behalf of David Chukwunonso Allison, whose wife, Joy Chiedozie Allison, was on the Dana Air MD-83 that went down in the African nation Sunday afternoon. The crash killed 153 people who were on the plane and an undetermined number of people on the ground.

Among those named in the 56-page lawsuit are Chicago-based Boeing Co., which bought the McDonnell-Douglas manufacturer of the plane, and Connecticut-based engine-maker Pratt & Whitney.

Gary Robb, a Kansas City, Mo.-based aviation attorney who filed the lawsuit for David Allison, said reports of engine failure as the plane approached Lagosm point to the companies' culpability.

Nigeria's Aviation Minister Stella Oduah said Wednesday that the flight's captain radioed Lagos as the aircraft approached and declared an emergency, saying both of the MD-83's engines had failed. Minutes later, the plane crashed into several buildings.

"That is always incredibly significant information," Robb said. "Engines do not fail unless something goes dramatically wrong."

Without offering details, the suit claims the Pratt & Whitney "engines used a defective and unreasonably dangerous design."

A Thursday statement from Pratt & Whitney responding to the lawsuit didn't address any specific allegations but said "our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all those involved in this incident."

"Pratt & Whitney is cooperating fully with investigating authorities and we are unable to offer any further comment as the investigation is ongoing," the statement said.

A spokesman for Boeing did not return several messages seeking comment Thursday.

Joy Allison, who lived in Lagos with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, worked for a Federal Express office in her home city, Robb said. The lawsuit seeks damage payments, though an amount will be determined later.

Robb conceded that pinpointing a precise cause of the alleged engine failure would take time. But he said filing the suit now would help ensure he and his own investigators had legal recourse to request the plane's flight voice and data recorders, and other evidence.

Francis Ogboro, an executive who oversees Dana Air, defended the airline Wednesday against growing public criticism, noting that its own chief engineer died on the doomed flight.

The MD-83 had undergone strenuous checks like the others the carrier owns and that he routinely flies, he told journalists.

The chief engineer "certainly would not have allowed that aircraft to take off" if there was a problem, Ogboro said. "No airline crew would go on a suicide mission."

Emergency officials on Wednesday stopped searching for those killed at the crash site in Iju-Ishaga, the Lagos neighborhood about five miles from Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

Officials still aren't sure how many people died, and a complete death toll could take weeks. The plane smashed into two apartment buildings, a printing business and a woodshop.

Authorities have collected the flight voice and data recorders from the plane and plan to send them to the U.S. for analysis. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board also has sent an investigator to assist Nigeria's Accident Investigation Board.

The State Department says nine Americans were among those killed.

Perhaps the bold text (my emphasis) explains talk of a 'flight' engineer being on board?

[sevenstrokeroll]

the engines used on this aircraft type are wonderful, I think pratt and whitney is my first choice in jet engines.
I would rather have a pratt and whitney engine than an CFM 56 or the like

The aircraft/airframe is a proven design and has my great respect.


I would sue the airline before pratt and whitney or boeing...but I have no idea what the tort laws are like in the aviation third world.

[etrang]

Firstly the airline doesn't have any money, and secondly the chance of winning a case in Nigeria is zero.

[free at last]

The person that is suing should be brought up on charges in Nigeria , ie 409 chapter. There:p:p is so much fraud going on, it is terrible. May the crew ,pax, rest in peace. And may the lawyer and the person filing the suit go H....l. Such a shameful action!

[Heathrow Harry]

"I have no idea what the tort laws are like in the aviation third world."

whatever you can afford my friend... especially in Nigeria

[atedo]

The airspace was closed at the instance ATC lost contact with the aircraft. All the flights on approach were asked to help sight the aircraft. Once a flight reported sighting the aircraft, the airspace was opened back. That did not take more than 15 minutes. I can confirm this as I was on ground at DNMM.

[ilesmark]

BBC News - Film tribute to Nigerian plane crash victims released (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18347263)

[lakerman]

As an aside to all this rumour and what ifs to do with the crash, the DC9 was the 2nd aircraft in the US to be certified without a flight engineer, the first being a Braniff BAC1-11 in March 1965 followed in may by Mohawk BAC 1-11 and then a DL DC9 in December 1965

[PLovett]

I would sue the airline before pratt and whitney or boeing...but I have no idea what the tort laws are like in the aviation third world.

Nothing to do with the third world tort law - you sue the engine and airframe manufacturer to get jurisdiction in the USA court system. In addition, both P & W and Boeing are likely to have deeper pockets than Dana Air. Sucks but there it is. :mad:

[LOS]

The Dana flight crew’s final radio broadcasts included “Mayday. Losing two engines” and “Throttle not responding. Not responding,” Demuren said in the interview, emphasizing he was speaking from memory.
The pilot didn’t mention hitting birds, which has caused simultaneous loss of power in two engines in other incidents, or any other reason for the failures, he said.

The jet took on what Demuren characterized as a routine fuel load before departing Abuja, the capital. The crew added 12,125 pounds (5,500 kilos) of jet fuel (http://topics.bloomberg.com/jet-fuel/) before the fatal flight, he said.
Other aircraft had refueled in Abuja without reports of engine failure, which suggests the fuel wasn’t contaminated, he said.



Why Nigeria Plane Lost Power Before Crash Still Mystery - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/why-nigeria-plane-lost-power-before-crash-still-mystery.html)

[Shell Management]

Nothing to do with the third world tort law - you sue the engine and airframe manufacturer to get jurisdiction in the USA court system. In addition, both P & W and Boeing are likely to have deeper pockets than Dana Air. Sucks but there it is.

Correct. I'm suprised the lawyers aren't suing the fuel supplier too!

[Lonewolf_50]

SM:

They'll probably get around to that if their research indicates that the pockets of that fuel supply company are deep enough. If not, they probably won't bother with the suit.

[Tableview]

BBC News - Film tribute to Nigerian plane crash victims released (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18347263)

[hetfield]

Oh no, not again.

[misd-agin]

Contaminated fuel probes leading to erroneous fuel quantity readings?

Google 'MD-80 fuel probe'

[sevenstrokeroll]

the right way to fuel an airliner is to put the amount of fuel you need for the flight plus alternate plus reserves plus contingency aboard the plane.

the fueler should provide proof that the exact amount has been loaded (in gallons) (or whtever)

the pilots should calculate the pounds of fuel uploaded and confirm the gauges show that amount.

and just before takeoff you check it again and you check the fuel circuits with the push the test button.

you takeoff with the wing tanks to engine to ensure that they are working and that if ONE tank was contaminated, the other might not be and at least one engine would be working.

you switch to the center tank(s) and use them up, and then back to the wings for landing


during enroute you monitor the fuel against the fuel flow /fuel used numbers

top of descent you make sure you have enough fuel and then you concentrate on landing

you also make sure you haven't opened and forgotten the crossfeed valve.


and if you don't do it like that...you might have a problem (bad fuel gauge etc)

[DownIn3Green]

WOW...Really?

[Earl]

A few years ago I was flying with AAI 747 wet lease for Nigerian Air out of Lagos to JFK and DXB.
Contract ended for non payment to AAI, quite a big sum owed also, even backed for payment they claim by the Nigerian government.
Lucky AAI took the loss and paid the crews.
There was always fuel problems there, if the flight plan called for 100 tons they would try and convince you to take less than flight plan fuel, claiming not enough money available.
Not in any way saying that's what happened here , but from what I seen there I would not trust these ones to wind my ass or scratch my watch.
Many times we would figure the fuel load, last flight landed with 10 tons 6 hours ago, they claim they uploaded 85 more and we were just 5 tons short, when converting the fuel added to what was in the fuel remaining the numbers often did not match.
Drip stick confirmed this, was shocked to see anyone trying to beat the system like they did.
Really hope this is not what happened here.

[west lakes]

An Aviation Herald update stating that bird remains found in one of the engines

[Melax]

Article link Dana Air Crash: Captain Waxtan ? So Unlucky (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88799:dana-air-crash-captain-waxtan--so-unlucky&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)

************************************************************ *****
Dana Air Crash: Captain Waxtan … So Unlucky (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88799:dana-air-crash-captain-waxtan--so-unlucky&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)

Sunday, 10 June 2012 00:00 Editorhttp://www.ngrguardiannews.com/plugins/content/valaddthis/images/share-long.gif

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/images/resized/images/stories/2012/june2012/captain-peter-waxtan_200_160.jpg


Died On Last Day In The Rotation Roster In Nigeria
CAPTAIN Peter Waxtan, the American pilot who flew the ill-fated DANA plane last Sunday, was on his last flight and last day in Nigeria before returning to his country, friends and former colleagues have said.
A former pilot for Miramar-based Spirit Airlines, Waxtan resumed work with Dana Air in March 2012, Oscar Wason, the airline’s director of operations said.
In all, Waxtan had flown Dana planes for 30 days and was off duty for 15 days, Pat Squires, a pilot who worked with him for 15 years, told the Sun Sentinel newspaper in the United States.
Waxtan was to return on Sunday, June 3, the same day the DANA flight 992 crashed in Lagos, killing 153 people on board and at least 10 others on the ground.
Squire said that Waxtan was eager to return to the US and spend time with Lisa, his fiancée. “He spent as much time as he could get with her.”
According to Squire, “The 55-year-old pilot was to have arrived his Fort Lauderdale home on Wednesday, June 6.”
The American pilot worked at Spirit from 1997 to 2009 before his contract and that of Squires, his colleague, were terminated during union negotiations with the airline.
“It (termination) was a political thing,” Squires said, which occurred during union negotiations with the airline.Both men then flew for Falcon Air Express, a Miami-based charter service, which they departed last year.
Waxtan later joined DANA Air, where he worked 30 days on and 15 off, Squires said.
“(Last) Sunday was supposed to be his last day in the rotation in Nigeria,” he said.
Flight 992 was few kilometres on its final approach to the Lagos airport when Waxtan declared an emergency. The jetliner crashed into a two-storey railway building, hitting the ground tail first and exploding in flames.
Squires described his friend as a “consummate professional at flying. He was the best MD-80 captain I’ve ever seen.”
He said crash photos showing Flight 992 on the ground with it nose up indicates that Waxtan was trying to keep it in the air right until the end.
“He did everything he could to save that aircraft. In the end, if he knew it was going down, he did everything he could to minimise the amount of damage on the ground. If nothing else, his efforts were heroic,” he said.
Squires said Waxtan was a former Army helicopter pilot who enjoyed hiking. About three weeks ago, the two men spoke. “He was very happy, he kept telling me, ‘We need captains, come on over,” Squires recalled.
“I’m still in shock,” said the friend, his voice breaking. “God, I’m going to miss him”, the Sun Sentinel reported.

[sevenstrokeroll]

down in three green


yes , really. how do you do it?

[NJA737]

@Earl - nothing surprises about that place. Just heard the runway lights in Abuja were not working last night.

The authority rule with little understanding on their actions - its all about demonstrating competency by making a lot of noise - rather than taking actions. Dana Air is now grounded - reason why? Unknown! - Its the Nigerian way - "we will ground them to prove to the world we are doing something - even though not sure what it is we are doing". Like an airline and its people don't have enough to go through because of an accident on top of that the concerns of a future for the airline. Sad state of affairs by a country that has been given Cat 1 by the US.

[aterpster]

Melax:

Thanks for placing a human face on this about one of our fellow professionals. How sad.

[aterpster]

sevenstrokeroll:

I am not sure I could do all of that except when supported by a first-world airline with decent, if not great, maintenance.

When I flew the 707 (especially with professional F/Es) and 727 the F/E did a lot of that. When I flew the 767 the company basically said, "Trust us."

[Merlyn]

I knew Pete. That photo is not him.

[stonevalley]

Sad comment on Nigeria if they can't even get the photo right!

[slowto280]

The second paragraph indicates a passengers' husband is suing the estate of Capt. Waxtan....

Husband of Nigeria air crash victim sues Boeing - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/husband-nigeria-air-crash-victim-sues-boeing-082537616.html)

WTFO? :confused:

[corona12]

They won't have much luck if they keep spelling his name incorrectly.

[worldpilot]

How does it make a difference that Dana Air is suspended and the other carriers in Nigeria are still flying?

The root cause of all this chaos is systemic and if the Nigerian government is really interested in getting things right, the entire operational environment must be addressed accordingly.

Rules and regulations are very difficult to enforce in Nigeria, and as long as that "never mind habit" dominates the scenario, consequences can not be expected.

[viking767]

Aviation lawyer Gary Robb, based in Kansas City, Missouri, who is the lead counsel on the lawsuit, said Allison was the first to file a lawsuit arising from the death of a relative in the crash.
"He did so because he wants answers, and he believes that the United States court system is far preferable to fairly and justly arrive at a resolution," Robb said on Friday. He said the lawsuit had been filed in Illinois because Boeing is based there.

[worldpilot]

I find the characterization "dangerous and defective" aircraft pretty interesting.

Can anyone characterized a commercial airplane flown by a carrier in the United State in such a way?? I doubt it, and that really means a lot.

I personally won't board any plane in Nigeria.:eek:

[SLFinAZ]

How does a lawyers drivel impact the unfortunate realities. There is absolutely no true indication of what the root cause was. If you are to believe the previous reports indicating significant maintenance issues then its negligence.

However I find it hard to fathom that the chief engineer and a seasoned pilot would knowing fly an airplane (with or without passengers) with significant safety issues.

If it's fuel problems (false load/contamination etc) that's another local issue...

Engine problem followed by a bird strike or double bird strike is just bad luck...

what puzzles me is the following combination...

The emergency was declared very late so I'd assume that the plane had no prior engine issues. Wouldn't the pilot have notified both company and ATC if he was approaching with a single engine? Same if gauges showed potential fuel starvation.

The fact (according to reports) that the comment was that the throttles weren't working??? wouldn't a fuel starvation flame out or a bird strike induced failure show on the panel with a multitude of warnings??

No call of a flame out or engine fire. Is it possible for the actual throttle quadrant linkage (mechanical or FBW) to break on a modern jet???

[bvcu]

Not a modern jet ...... not that it makes any difference !

[eagleflier]

Worldpilot,
If you read it properly, you'd notice that they blamed Boeing for manufacturing and delivering a "dangerous and defective" aircraft. So if there are MD83s flying in US airspace, according to the lawsuit, the answer to your question is yes.

[hetfield]

How are the chances of a double engine failure due to bird strike on rear engines mounted aircraft like the mad dog?

Are there relevant statistics?

Albeit I have some hours on 727, bird strikes on pods were seldom. On center engine like none.

[worldpilot]

eagleflier,

Frankly, if Boeing airplanes are as characterized, the company won't survive it. FAA won't even allow Boeing to sell a single airplane. I really don't see how Boeing could be held accountable for this incident. The plane was certified and sold to Alaskan Airlines and flown for many years before being sold to Dana Air.

The regulatory compliance and service/maintenance environment in Nigerian airline industry is just not appropriate enough to address the risks level. I personally think that that's the one of the major variable of the equation that led to this incident.

[CF105-Arrow]

Ah. But who knows what hidden short-coming there was in the original design just waiting for the right foreseeable set of circumstances to arise? [/sarcasm] Arrow

[BobnSpike]

Sue everyone in sight for $zillions. Chances are somebody will settle for $thousands rather than spend more than the settlement offer defending the suit, with about half going to the lawyer(s). The merit of the case, or lack thereof, is irrelevant.

Litigation is a better bet than the lottery

[merlinxx]

Some years ago a very dear friend, a Nigerian Captain, MD of a publishing House & Flight Support Operation, was one of my speakers at a large BIZAV conference in the US. His topic was "Operations in Africa".

He started with " Africa, Africa the dark continent ! You know we have got airways, airports, Air Traffic Control, Nav Aids & airlines. They may not work, but we've got them !" The 500 or so delegates erupted in laughter & clapping. That set the tone for the "Be alert, be safe, be sure & maintain communications with your Flight Support company & your own company at all times.

[NaijaPilot]

From his accent, it was obvious he was the Indian co-pilot, Mr. Mahendra Roathore, who spoke with the ATCs during the last minutes of the tragic flight.
The pilot, an American, Captain Peter Waxtan, was said to have been busy, struggling to keep the aircraft in flight, while the co-pilot spoke with the ATCs.

Below is the word-for-word account of the conversation between the crew of the ill-fated plane and the ATC on duty.
Co-pilot: “Lagos Tower, Dana code 0992!”
ATC: “Dana Code 0992, this is Lagos radar, go ahead!”
Co-pilot: “May Day! May Day! May Day! Dana code 0992 Five November Romeo Alpha Mike! (5N-RAM) dual engine failure!”
ATC: “Dana Code 0992, read me?”
Co-pilot: “I read you five by five! Dual engine failure! Negative response from throttle! Requesting for direct straight approach!”
ATC: “Alright, position it one mile to touch down, Runway 18R! Contact tower now on 1181!”
Co-pilot: “1181 Good day!”

Unfortunately, the crew never spoke with the control tower. The aircraft crashed into the residential building a few seconds after this discussion.


Dana pilot (http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/dana-pilots-last-conversation-with-air-traffic-controller/)

[Phoeniks]

According to AFA [Air Force Association] Nigeria has implemented a relatively new policy to deny entry into Nigeria for planes over 22 years old. This was said in the context, that the average age of USAF fleet is over 22 years.

[blablabla]

I dont really understand why they were making an approach for 18R unless they had problems before this already as Dana are based at MM2 and the flight was Domestic coming from Abuja in Daylight hours with good weather so 18L would have been the landing RWY for this flight and better for their approach path and as the RWY`s are staggered 18L threshold would have been closer than the threshold of 18R. So any doubt about making the RWY i would have been going direct 18L as its a few hundred meters closer than 18R if i`m remembering the airport correctly.

[Chronus]

Simply a case of Lift is a gift, but Thrust is a must. The issue to be determined therefore is why the lack of thrust. The ATC transcript gives us a clue, double engine failure, what remains to be ascertained first is whether this was a simultaneous engine failure or not. Most unlikely that fuel exhaustion would cause simultaneous failure, one engine would flame out before the other. I would suggest the evidence, scant as it is, points more in the direction of A/T failure which would affect both engines simulataneously. Does anyone have sim experience on A/T failure modes. Particularly since the THY Schipol event. Obviously the LHR 777 hedge hopper is of no relevance as air temperature is not an issue in this instance.

[exeng]

scant as it is, points more in the direction of A/T failure

I don't think so! If the crew had actually reported a dual engine failure with no response to the thrust levers then I think there was a fair chance they would have tried to push them forward don't you? Apart from happening on the planet earth I would suggest the similarities between the Dana tragedy and the THY AMS tragedy are about nil.

[InSoMnIaC]

@Chronus - A/T failure??? seriously.

[hetfield]

@Chronus - A/T failure??? seriously. Both FADECs hacked?
:ugh:

[lomapaseo]

Chromus

You logic about simultainty is flawed if all you are using is the rumored ATC calls.

The first thing on the crews mind during approach when a single engine fails is to annuciate it and scan the instruments while the pilot is handling the aircraft (in my mind that is still optionally open in this investigation).

Only when the situation is in doubt (the other engine later fails damit!) would the non-flying pilot then get on the radio.

Of course this is still all just speculation and I only use it to argue against your postulations

[rcsa]

I saw this in the IHT this morning, and thought it a good account for those who haven't had the pleasure of flying Air Nigeria, or Arik, or Dana, or the rest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/world/africa/adventures-aboard-airlines-in-nigeria.html

[shortfinals]

Here's some context for Dana Air and Nigerian aviation
Is Nigerian aviation safety still on course? - Learmount (http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/learmount/2012/06/is-nigerian-aviation-safety-st.html)

[SE210]

I think the discussion, whether an old plane is safe is wrong.

Obviously it is a question of maintenance.

Furthermore, after many years as a sim instructor and examiner I have come to the following conclusion:

I would at any time prefer a good pilot in a poorly maintained aircraft, than a poor pilot in a new or perfectly maintained aircraft.

Peter Waxtan was a highly experienced pilot. Without knowing him, I would propably have felt safe in his hands. It is sad, that multiple catastrophic failures left him with not chance of saving the aircraft.

Still I find it more likely that poor pilot will **** up a new aircraft, than getting into a situation where a pilot like Peter Waxtan would not be able to deal with serious failures and save the aircraft.

[Hussar 54]

MERLYN....

Are you sure ??

Wouldn't say for certain, but the picture looks something like the skipper of a Dana flight when I deplaned in Abuja a couple of months ago....Didn't know him at all, but remember being quite surprised to see a white, American accented skipper as all the Dana flight crews that I have met here are of either African or Indian ethnicity....

Whether the picture is right or wrong, can't help but have tremendous sadness for the crew, who must have known their chances were miniscule if they couldn't make the threshold....Not too many green fields anywhere around MM if you needed to put it down short of the tarmac, even though there are acres and acres and acres of empty grass once inside / over the perimeter fencing, and where a dead stick landing from almost any direction except directly over the terminal buildings would have been possible if only they could have made it that far....

And in relation to Dana - always believed that they are a decent outfit by West African standards with ' intelligent ' management....And from what I've seen on the apron, I can't say the MD's looked to be in obviously poor condition compared to to some of the other rubbish which passes through here on a daily basis....So until proved otherwise, I think I'd discount any suggestions that the aircraft was known to be u/s before departure and the crew were under any sort of pressure from the company to carry out the flight....

I'm not going to speculate on any particular reasons for this sad accident, and just put this one down to bad luck of one sort or another....Problem will be the Nigerian Government's tradition to never actually issue accident reports, with or without assistance or pressure from other countries aviation authorities and so it is unlikely that we will ever know the full cause....

Having said all that - the combination of American ambulance-chasing lawyers and opportunistic Nigerians with American connections could become the mother of all nightmares for anyone and everyone with even the remotest association with the manufacture / maintenance / operation of the aircraft and this particular flight....I doubt, therefore, that we will see Dana even wish to continue in existence with those prospects on the horizon....

[sevenstrokeroll]

Question.

What position were the wing flaps/slats found in?

AS you douglas boys know, if one engine was out you would use one certain flap setting for approach and landing

if both engines were running fine, normal landing flaps might have been set.


the question...did the engine(s) fail after configuring for landing or not? And don't make a supposition based on distance to touchdown.

[noske]

SE210I think the discussion, whether an old plane is safe is wrong.Of course it is, but that's nothing new. After the Adam Air crash, before the flight recorders had even been recovered, some Indonesian officials proposed that aircraft over 10 years of age be replaced. http://flightsafety.org/asw/apr07/asw_apr07_p5.pdf

The investigation however revealed maintenance issues as the root cause of the accident. (The maintenance records for the three months preceding the crash included 154 recurring IRS faults that were never properly resolved. :ugh: The accident crew were focused on troubleshooting such an IRS fault when they lost control of the aircraft.) http://flightsafety.org/asw/jun08/asw_jun08_p36-40.pdf

[SE210]

Poor pilots in poorly maintained aircraft is not a food cocktail.

[Flightmech]

Poor pilots in poorly maintained aircraft is not a food cocktail.

Are you inferring that the pilots in this crash were poor then?

[SE210]

Please read my previous contribution.

[Flightmech]

Please read my previous contribution
Just did, apologies!:oh:

[PLovett]

Still I find it more likely that poor pilot will **** up a new aircraft, than getting into a situation where a pilot like Peter Waxtan would not be able to deal with serious failures and save the aircraft.

Absolutely agree. I can think of two 737-800, both relatively young), from differing respected African companies that are no more due to incompetence on the flight deck. :mad:

[kinteafrokunta]

Bigots conveniently forgot a BM crew of skygods shut down a good engine and crashed onto a highway some years ago. What makes you think this skygod "might " have had the same " misfortune "? Not casting aspersions but just thinking aloud..............

[Teddy Robinson]

you mean the Kegworth accident that became core material for every CRM course run since, and underpins every modern engine failure SOP ?
Wish some people would pay a bit more attention in class sometimes :-)

[M.Mouse]

Bigots conveniently forgot a BM crew of skygods shut down a good engine and crashed onto a highway some years ago. What makes you think this skygod "might " have had the same " misfortune "?

I am not a bigot, I am not a racist, I have flown many hours in Africa and also observed and read much about incidents and accidents in Africa.

What I do see is widespread corruption, lack of facilities, lack of training, lack of maintenance, lack of equipment and a disproportionate number of fatal accidents when compared to the Western world. Plenty of intelligent and competent African people it is just that plenty of stupid and incompetent people are able to get into positions of power and responsibility through means other than hard work and qualifications, not least corruption.

The result is what we see in most areas of life in most African countries. i.e. ordinary people impoverished and always paying a heavy price for the chaos caused by the aforementioned.

Not casting aspersions but just thinking aloud..............

Yeah, right!

[eagleflier]

Govt gets Dana Air crash report (http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89623:govt-gets-dana-aircrash-report&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)

Preliminary report cites fuel contamination

[hetfield]

Preliminary report cites fuel contamination Thx eagle


Okay, but what about all others that very sad day?

Better fuel?

Better engines...?

I simply don't believe!

[punkalouver]

Somebody earlier posted that we would not likely see an accident report. But they have been published in the past. As you read them you just shake your head and realize that there is a reason for stereotypes:

A-310 Nigeria Airways

http://www.aib.gov.ng/cia129.pdf

- “On long final, the descent was visual and manual. Since the wind was
not strong, the Captain did not pay attention to its direction but was only
preoccupied with avoiding the clouds. The aircraft crossed the threshold at
about 50ft high while the Captain claimed to be taking visual perspective to
left of the runway's centreline.”

On page 13 it states(pages are in the order of 15, 13, 17)…

- “The nose gear touched down shortly before the aircraft approached rapid-exit-taxiway intersection with the runway, the wide expanse of which gave the crew, the erroneous impression that the airplane was well in the middle of paved runway. This led the crew to keep this heading, forgetting everything to the right which was the general direction of the runway. Of course, there would be no lights ahead of them because the lights were to the right - the true runway direction. It was not surprising that the crew gave evidence as follows: ..........................we were seeing the lights then suddenly, we did not see the lights anymore."

- “The ATC tape recorder was unserviceable for about 17 months and was still unserviceable on the day of accident.”

- “The first contributory factor was the touchdown point which was displaced 82ft. left of the
centre-line and 2 degrees left of the runway direction. The second contributory factor was the open trench close to the runway shoulder which immediately trapped the left main landing gear in a bid to correct to the runway heading with right rudder.”


DC-10 touch and go crash Nigeria Airways(link no longer on website)


A DC-10 of Nigeria Airways doing touch and goes for a new captain on his first DC-10 captain flight on a where the visibility was about ½ mile(900 Meters). They landed long on the 10,000 foot plus runway due to a high approach and throttles not being fully closed, then a long time to lower the nose, then a long time to reconfigure, then suddenly the end of the runway noticed to be rapidly approaching out of the haze, then the throttles advanced by one crew followed by another wanting to stop using brakes and spoilers but not closing the throttles. Impact into non-frangible approach lighting caused a fire.


- “Foam was directed toward the fuselage roof and the fuel tanks were ignored. Fire services fought the fire for the first three minutes after which fire fighting was carried out over the next one hour twenty minutes with the use of sand and three shovels. “



A cargo carrying Nigeria Airways 707 with a smoke on board from a specific cargo pallet.

http://www.aib.gov.ng/cia04344.pdf

- “The Flight Engineer in the cockpit was the first to notice and comment on the strange odour he perceived. The Ground Engineer and the Load Master confirmed the presence of the smell and a throat irritation that they experienced for quite a while around them in the cargo compartment. The Flight Engineer was justified in getting angry with them for not notifying the cockpit from the moment they felt the unusual sensations.”

After the smoke evacuation checklist had been completed there is casual conversation about the climate in Nigeria and proper descent technique followed by laughter and the captain’s statement of “I want wine and will drink beer today”. No emergency was declared and the flight continued toward its destination 40 minutes away while another suitable airport was 10-15 minutes behind.

Eventually the master warning sounded and illuminated. It was cancelled immediately by the F/O without identifying it prior to cancellation. According to the report, “he apparently cancelled the warning and ran to ease himself”. The CVR quotes the F/O saying “I ran to urinate”.

A couple of minutes later, there was an explosion will subsequent loss of aircraft control. The Captain and F/E survived.

Boeing 737 at Kaduna 1995

http://www.aib.gov.ng/cia04354.pdf

“….gave the aircraft an inbound clearance with no delay for a locator approach unto runway 05 and passed on the 07:00 UTC weather report. Though, the initial landing clearance was for runway 05, the Captain requested to land on runway 23. He was reminded by the Air Traffic Controller that the wind was from 090 magnetic, but he still insisted on using the 23 approach. The Captain, therefore, accepted to land with a tailwind“(090/10).

“…. the threshold was sighted just 1 .5 miles to the left of the aircraft.
The First Officer asked the Captain "Can you make it to land from that
position?". The observer also suggested going on the downwind;
presumably to re-position the aircraft for landing on runway 05. There was
no response at all from the Captain and the approach was continued for
runway 23. The left turn was very steep and it took the aircraft to the left
of the runway centreline and a right correction was applied. The observer
had to shout a warning "Watch the wing" as the wings could have struck
the ground on the final approach.”

“The aircraft touched down at 2020 ft (615.85m) from the end of the
paved runway 05 after consuming 7820 feet i.e. 79.5% of the runway total
length. The Captain was reported to have used 1.8 and 1.6 EPR (Engine
Power Ratio) on the reversers. When a runway overrun became inevitable,
the Captain turned the aircraft to the left with the intention to take
advantage of the last rapid exit intersection to avoid the runway end lights.
At this juncture, the aircraft entered an uncontrollable skid. The
attendant turning moments inevitably forced the right wing to hit the ground, thus rupturing the fuel tanks and a huge fire erupted.” (Turn initiated at 76 knots)

“The fire fighting was ineffective for two reasons: Firstly, the volume of water and foam brought to the scene of the accident by the MAC 06 and Bedford trucks got finished in no time and secondly, the fire fighting technique employed by the firemen was wrong; rather than attacking the source of the fire, they were busy trying to curtail the spread of the fire.”

“The Flight Cockpit Management was very pitiable in that only the
Commander was treating the flight while the First Officer was only
interested In acting as a mobile relay station on the company frequency”

“Evidence from the Cockpit Voice Recorder, indicated that no landing
checks were carried out. The right seat scheduled first Officer was just too busy assisting in relaying messages between the ground dispatchers.”

“The alignment of the aircraft was not achieved until the aircraft was far beyond the threshold of the runway.”

“In the cockpit, there was another Pilot, a status of First Officer
occupying the jump seat as an observer. There seemed to be a rift between the Commander of this aircraft and the jump seat F/O . The jump-seat pilot claimed himself to be a member of the Nigeria Airways management, and hence superior to the Captain . The jump seat pilot went as far as hassling for the hotel suite that was reserved for the Captain the previous night on arrival at the hotel, the bad blood was still very much on the minds of both of them
that co-operation between them on the flight deck was rendered Impossible.”

`…a jump-seat pilot has no responsibility for the`flight and should not interfere with the conduct of the flight, but in this case he did comment and almost took over the approach briefings from the
Captain.”

“Records indicate that the attitude of the commander of this
aircraft towards other members of staff of the airline leaves a lot
to be desired.”

ILS U/S, ATC Radar U/S, FDR U/S




B737-200 destroyed at Kaduna

http://www.aib.gov.ng/reports/cia04365.pdf

QAM. 1600 UTC
QAN: 060/06Knots.
QBA: 600 meters.
QBB: 9000 meters.
QNY: Thick dust haze.
QMU: 30/03 Celsius.
QFE: 942 MBS.
QNH: 1017 EBB.

”…the Chief Pilot of Chanchangi Airline Ltd. Approached the Air Traffic Controller personally that he would like to fly around the circuit for a training flight. He was told that the visibility was 600 meters which was below the landing minima and was then advised against it. The Pilot then suggested that he would carry out a "Rejected Take-
Off' training.”

”At 15:37 UTC. He requested a take off clearance which was granted, and was directed to
proceed to the holding point of runway 05. At the holding point the pilot gave the number of souls on board as 24 and a fuel endurance of 4 hours.”

”This Boeing 737 aircraft in carrying out four rejected take off runs within an interval of twelve minutes, must have developed unacceptably high temperatures around the brake units that the upsurge of fire was virtually inevitable.”


”The aircraft was burnt to ashes in a fire that resulted from overheated brake units in the left landing gear.”

”Eye witness account had it that the fire truck was at first positioned on the right side of the airplane whereas, the source of the fire was on the left. Then they were directed to reposition on the left side and were then seen to be directing the nozzle spray to the top of the left wing instead of the left main-landing gear under the wing. It was noticeable that there was no sign or smell of foam agent around the aircraft and furthermore, the fire men also complained that the fluoro-protein foam compound was unstable and ineffective.”

The trancript of the communications between the aircraft and tower show that the pilot had to mention the word Fire 20 times before it was understood by ATC that the aircraft was on fire.



E110 at Kaduna(link on site no longer works)

Engine shut down prop not feathered, when copilot asked for 25% flap…full flap selected. Airpeed decayed, control lost.

“Crew coordination was practically not in existence and the first officer could not be adjudged to understand what his commander was doing at any particular time in this flight. Even when the commander had a callout, the approach of the copilot was rather casual and inconsistent. It is surprising to note that in the course of investigation the first officer could not confirm whether the landing gear was deployed at any particular phase of the flight.“

“…according to the captain, the first officers reactions and responses to his commands were not rational and logical.“



ADC Airlines DC-9(Nigerian Airline crash in Monrovia) on a 6,000 foot runway

http://www.aib.gov.ng/5nbbedc9.pdf


“When the aircraft was about 4nm away from the threshold of RWY-23, it had
descended to 400ft. The RWY was sighted at about 2.5nm, the aircraft crossed the threshold of RWY-23 at a slightly high altitude of about 150ft. A hard touch down was however made at about 3000ft from the threshold.”

“they should have anticipated and be prepared for the presence of water on the runway to decide whether or not to continue the landing -having crossed the threshold at a height of about 150' and with a speed close to 155 kts.”

“nowhere in the transcript was a formal read-out of the checklist found in the normal challenge-and response format.”

“The inaction of the spoilers probably explains why the aircraft bounced to a height of about 20' after the initial touch-down.”


BAC 1-11 at Port Harcourt

http://www.aib.gov.ng/okadabac11.pdf

“….the aircraft ran into a heavy downpour and could not execute ob-around
as aircraft was sin kina fast. But as he wanted to nave positive
contact with me runway, rte "chopped. power". “(all spelling errors from report).

“The aircraft made a hard landing, bounced up and made the second touchdown on its nose-wheel. About 82 meters after impact, the aircraft lost the nose gear assembly and fuselage nose section contacted the runway. About 600 meters after touchdown, the aircraft left the paved runway and ran into the trench on the runway shoulder.”

“The following three accidents had occurred at Port-Harcourt International
Airport within the last 24 months:
(A) Accident to the Airbus A-310 registered 5N-AUG on the 8th September,
1987.
(B) Accident to the Boeing 737 registered 5N-ANW on the 15th October,
1988.
(C) Accident to this BAC 1-11 registered 5N-AOT on the 7th September,
1989.
In all the three accidents, those horrid trenches along runway 03/21 escalated the hitherto landing incidents to total accidents. Out of the three accidents above only the Airbus was repairable.”

“The salvage exercise escalated the seemingly salvageable aeroplane to total
loss of hull. The Nigerian Airports Authority did not have the simplest means
of removing any type of wracked aircraft as its disposal at the station. The
operator hired two cranes of 40 and 50 tonne capacities to evacuate the
aircraft from the runway shoulder but the steel cables from the crane
booms virtually sliced the fuselage circumferentially.”

“For Borne(sic) years now, there had never been any good means of communications within the airport complex. information that would have been dispatched through the telephone are now being hand carried from the tower on the 8th floor to other Airport.”

“The elevator to the tower has not been working for years and the NAA is financially handicapped to effect any repairs. There is no telephone communication between the airport and Port-Harcourt township which is about 40 kilometres away. The radar has been out of service and-shut-down since December, 1987.”

“There was communication between the pilot and the tower, but the
ATC tape deck was not operating because the air conditioner which cools the
instrument room had broken down”

“The operator does not have a Company Operations Manual”


DC-9 Port Harcourt(7 years after the three accidents made worse by ditches)

http://www.aib.gov.ng/fmaaipb424.pdf

“The aircraft on final approach encountered adverse weather with change in wind speed and direction: 220° /09kts (headwind) in nil weather to 360° /05kts (tailwind) while the visibility was reducing in thunderstorm and rain.”

“Eyewitness accounts from the air traffic controllers and fire/rescue personnel stated that the airfield lightings were not on.”

“The crew continued the descent and went well below the Decision Altitude without having visual contact with the runway.The crew initiated a 'go-around' below the altitude of 204ft, which is 103ft below the Decision Altitude; the attempt of which was not successful.”

“There was no standard instrument call-out by the crew”

“At about 60m from the first impact, the aircraft rear fuselage impacted heavily with an exposed concrete drainage culvert where No.2 engine and the rear staircase of the aircraft were detached and lodged. The exposed concrete drainage structure is badly located and poses a real danger to aircraft landing on Runway 21.”


Let 410 at Calabar

http://www.aib.gov.ng/fmaaipb383.pdf

“…the crew reported to the control tower that they were having electrical problem and therefore declared emergency. The crew continued the descent until the aircraft impacted with a tree of about 6011(sic) and several other trees.”

The final impact of the aircraft with another tree was at 20m further down the flight path, while the fuselage was compacted from nose cone to the tail cone. Such a high speed impact scenario is only comparable with a military high-speed supersonic crash.

Sky Executive Aviation Services got an approval to import and operate three (3) LET-410 UVP aircraft in Nigeria. But the airline, for economic reason or other reasons best known to itself, negotiated for the aircraft's acquisition in the Republic of Congo and then cleverly and sneakily avoided the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from carrying out the pre-importation inspection.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on the other hand, could not claim ignorance of the operation of, nor the existence of the aircraft in the country and yet nothing was done to arrest the situation or stop the illegal operation of the company.

It looks as if, co-ordination within the authority is incoherent, because as one department was having nothing to do with the operator, another was granting the same operator with clearances and waivers so that the company's operations could continue.

neither the CVR nor the FDR was fitted in disagreement with the Civil Aviation Regulations. The engines were not maintained in accordance with the standard procedure required for air safety. Both engines had exceeded the overhaul time by 242hrs as at the time of the accident.

N0. 2 Propeller had also exceeded the overhaul time by 62hrs at crash time.

Findings show that there were conversational problem between the controller and the pilots who could not speak much English language.

The quality and capability of the two pilots left many doubts about their performance as able pilots, who were worthy the salt of the professional accolade accorded them. Maybe, this could be a cogent reason why the managing director was over protecting and shielding the pilots from being examined by the NCAA's Licensing Department. The accident, therefore, may be categorised as poor handling by the operating
crew. “

[PLovett]

Bigots conveniently forgot a BM crew of skygods shut down a good engine and crashed onto a highway some years ago. What makes you think this skygod "might " have had the same " misfortune "? Not casting aspersions but just thinking aloud..............

My bold. Oh yes you are.

In the two crashes I am considering the facts speak for themselves, incompetence writ large. Incompetence is not restricted to a specific race or colour but adherence to standards and procedure should be the hallmark of every airline and pilot but unfortunately the statistics show that certain areas of the world don't always comply. That said, it appears that this might be one of those rare examples where circumstances have defeated the best efforts of the crew.

[lomapaseo]

Another side to the fuel contamination rumour

The contamination rumour starts as speculation, most likely on PPRuNe, then gets legitimized by pseudo leaks from on-scene. And now disclaimed by a news expert.

But yet we haven't heard a hint from the experts on scene.

Just to add a technical comment. I agree that most (but not all) fuel contamination issues will be annunciated before the engines quit entirely. One exception that comes to mind is where the fuel contamination is not filterable and does not manifest itself until after it passes through the filters. examples would be the BA 777 and the CX A330 and perhaps even an out-of-spec fuel



Nigeria: Experts Rule Out Contaminated Fuel As Cause of DANA Crash

By Chinedu Eze, 19 June 2012 ul.sharebar Aeronautical engineers and pilots have said contaminated fuel was not responsible for the crash of Dana Air flight J9 0992 that killed all153 person passengers on board on June 3, 2012.
The pilot of the aircraft reported the failure of the two engines before it crashed into Iju area of Lagos where it crushed three houses and killed 10 people on ground.
Following the crash, there were media reports that the preliminary report from aviation experts from the United States, who are working with the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) had suggested that impure fuel could have caused the two engines and the throttles of the crashed plane to fail midair.
However, a pilot who is also an engineer told THISDAY last Sunday that although contaminated fuel could damage and eventually kill the engine of an aircraft but for the fuel to wreck such damage it must have been so contaminated that it could not be dispensed with a browser- the machine that feeds fuel to the aircraft.
And the pilot will receive enough signs from the aircraft and gauges to know at the time of taking off that the fuel in the aircraft was highly contaminated.
"There is equipment in modern aircraft that signify to the pilot when an engine begins to receive contaminated fuel and these signs will appear in the numerous gauges in the aircraft," the pilot said.
According to him, fuel filters would begin to clog and fail to transmit fuel to the engine and the pilot would receive fuel filter warning and if this situation continues a fuel bypass in the aircraft will pass the filters and begin to feed the engine directly.
"And the pilot will get the sign from the gauges that fuel filters are clogging. When it clogs too much because it has residues, a fuel bypass will open and deliver fuel directly to the engine. It will give lasting signs to the pilot. Then the fuel pressure gauge will give its own signs when the fuel fails to flow to the engine the way it should and the gauge will begin to drop."
He said that a pilot would relate the sign from the pressure gauge to that of the filter gauge and another significant sign is that the engine output would begin to drop.
"There is no way a pilot can fly without noticing all these and it takes time for these things to happen. There will be fuel filter warning; fuel pump warning and engine output warning. These are sequences of warning, which the pilot would begin to notice at take-off and should land the plane at the nearest airport. As a pilot you are trained to understand each of these signs and each of the two engines will experience these changes differently."
Besides, THISDAY learnt that such contaminated fuel that could kill two engines of an aircraft could not be served by modern browser, used by oil marketers to feed aircraft because it has its in-built filtration system.
"If bad fuel caused this it means the fuel is so contaminated that it can be felt and you cannot get such fuel certified. The Jet A1 must be a mixture of diesel and conveyed in drums because any of the modern browsers or refuelling equipment cannot move it to the aircraft with the modern filtration as it is today," another pilot told THISDAY.
Last December, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) dismissed the allegation that some fuel marketers sell DPK (kerosene) as Jet A1 (aviation fuel), noting that it had in place stringent measures, which fuel marketers comply with to supply the product.
The Director -General of NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, had said: "I want to put your mind at rest that aviation is safe and secured. But let me say this; I can assure the public that there is no danger in all our flight operations and we will keep it that way. We have stringent measures put in place before aviation fuel can get into the aircraft; and we don't start from the airport. It starts from the refineries because it is a procedural thing. Nobody can import any fuel here without the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR). There are lots of certifications and processes."

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Experts Rule Out Contaminated Fuel As Cause of DANA Crash (http://allafrica.com/stories/201206190325.html)

[Lonewolf_50]

loma, I am not convinced that THISDAY coverage is up to scratch.
Besides, THISDAY learnt that such contaminated fuel that could kill two engines of an aircraft could not be served by modern browser, used by oil marketers to feed aircraft because it has its in-built filtration system.

I find this claim to be vague and overly optimistic. One can indeed have that equipment and either keep it in such poor repair or make other errors that bad fuel can get into the aircraft. (But then, did a maintainer take a fuel sample before takeoff? There's another potential hole in the cheese if that was gun decked).

"If bad fuel caused this it means the fuel is so contaminated that it can be felt and you cannot get such fuel certified. The Jet A1 must be a mixture of diesel and conveyed in drums because any of the modern browsers or refuelling equipment cannot move it to the aircraft with the modern filtration as it is today," another pilot told THISDAY.
I do not share the optimism of the above statement, in re "it can't happen because of this." Sorry. Human error and sloppiness are still risks to the system.


Last December, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) dismissed the allegation that some fuel marketers sell DPK (kerosene) as Jet A1 (aviation fuel), noting that it had in place stringent measures, which fuel marketers comply with to supply the product.

Which of course are always followed. Sure. :rolleyes:
The Director -General of NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, had said: "I want to put your mind at rest that aviation is safe and secured. But let me say this; I can assure the public that there is no danger in all our flight operations and we will keep it that way. We have stringent measures put in place before aviation fuel can get into the aircraft; and we don't start from the airport. It starts from the refineries because it is a procedural thing. Nobody can import any fuel here without the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR). There are lots of certifications and processes."

And of course, those are infallible.

NOT!

My skepticism isn't just toward Nigeria ... plenty of other places where a slip can lead to bad fuel.

I appreciate what the official is doing, however, which is trying to avoid loss of confidence in air travel. He's in a tough position.

[hetfield]

Bad fuel?

Again, I doubt it. Like already mentioned.

Nigeria: Experts Rule Out Contaminated Fuel As Cause of DANA CrashHow come, both engines run for 50 min or so without trouble, and suddenly fail?

[prospector]

punkalouver,

Wish I had not read your post.

[stepwilk]

Why does nobody seem to recognize the difference between "browsers" (what you use on your laptop) and "bowsers" (what you use to pump fuel into your aircraft)?

Too many amateurs, or too many professionals who can't spell?

[Northbeach]

Why does nobody seem to recognize the difference between "browsers" (what you use on your laptop) and "bowsers" (what you use to pump fuel into your aircraft)?

Two peoples separated by a common language!


Bowser's pumping fuel may be completely familiar and proper to you, for others it's a name of a dog and has nothing to do with anti-gravity machines. And we know dogs can’t pump fuel into planes, no opposable thumbs and they can’t fill out the necessary background check paperwork to work on the ramp. It’s a problem…………


Lighthearted Northbeach: a professional who cannot spell, color and couleur and colour all look tres bien to me.

[chuks]

Many other aircraft would have taken fuel from the same source as the accident aircraft, yet there were no other reports of problems, as far as we have been told. That seems to argue against fuel contamination.

Perhaps we can have some sort of preliminary report soon, to put some of the wilder rumors/rumours to rest?

[atedo]

Chuks you are on point.

The bowser wouldn't supply fuel to only 5N-RAM. They need to tell us more as the fuel vendor have not been questioned or advised to suspend fuelling aircrafts for further investigation. :ugh:

[henra]

I agree that most (but not all) fuel contamination issues will be annunciated before the engines quit entirely. One exception that comes to mind is where the fuel contamination is not filterable and does not manifest itself until after it passes through the filters.


I'm also having some difficulties imagining what kind of contamination would manifest itself only when the tank is almost empty.
Most (I would have said all but I'm not sure I'm missing something) non-combustible liquids tend to be rather high density, i.e. they would sink to the bottom. As some already pointed out that would cause trouble rather at the beginning than at the end of the leg. Moreover I would rather expect problems when high EPR is required, i.e. at take off. During approach even a degraded fuel quality should still be able to provide sufficient combustion, maybe requiring a somewhat higher fuel flow. Jet engines are generally quite tolerant with regard to what they are fed. I can see clogged filters killing off a jet engine, however most would still run happily on salad oil or other low calorific value fuel albeit producing less thrust.

So we are looking for something that floats on top of Jet A1, i.e. is of lower density, does not burn or (more likely) is able to clog the filters.
Wondering what type of substance we are looking for (apart from fire extinguisher foam :E)?
Any ideas anyone?

Have there been previous cases where fuel contamination caused jet engines of an airliner to quit during approach / landing? I really don't remember such a case but that doesn't mean they didn't exist.

Edit: Thanks @lomapaseo, I should have excluded BA038 from my last statement. That was after a intercontinental flight at high altitude and very low temperatures.
@Lonewolf: Now that you point me to it... ;)

[Lonewolf_50]

henra, perhaps some cork ... ;)

[lomapaseo]

henra

I won't speculate on this accident

but for historical purposes only

"ice" or disolved crystals like "salt"

but like others have said, nobody has released any evidence to support speculations :)

[StormyKnight]

"DUAL engine failure caused the crash of a Nigerian aircraft that killed at least 159 people last month, a preliminary official report says.
The probe into the June 3 Dana Air crash traced the cause "to the loss of two engines and non-functionality of the throttles on final descent from Abuja to Lagos", according to an accident investigation report released on Thursday.
All 153 people on board the McDonnell Douglas MD83 twin-engined jet died when it crashed into a neighbourhood near the airport in Lagos, and at least six people on the ground were killed.
The preliminary report said: "... the captain informed the FO (flight officer), 'we just lost everything, we lost an engine. I lost both engines'.
"During the next 25 seconds ... the flight crew was attempting to restart the engines."
The aeroplane then crashed about 10 kilometres north of Lagos.
The report denied media speculation that contaminated fuel could have affected the two engines.
Investigators will conduct further probes into the crash, the report said."


Read more: Engine failure caused Nigeria air crash | News.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/engine-failure-caused-nigeria-air-crash/story-e6frfkui-1226425045829#ixzz20Scp8ymn)

[aterpster]

I guess "non-fuctionality of throttles" means they don't work when there is no longer fuel being fed to the engines.

I am asking.

[Lonewolf_50]

Given that you are analyzing journospeak, aterpster, your guess is as good as mine.

You could infer from that language that someone is suggesting throttles not working versus fuel starvation as the major contributor to the crash.

Hope the investigators figure it out.

[Evey_Hammond]

I confess I don't come from an aviation background but I thought FDR's were pretty indestructible..? Do those in the know agree that an FDR would be destroyed in this manner? Or is it just a matter of "convenience" that the FDR's aren't available to be examined...? (Honest question from someone who doesn't know the answer)

[Machinbird]

Hopefully the engine fuel filters and lines still contain some of the original fuel, and did not get cooked to vapor by the fire.

This description of power not following the throttles reminds me of a severe case of water contamination in the fuel of a J-52 on an A-4 Skyhawk. The crew noted unusual performance from the engine during a night GCA. At minimums, they attempted to waveoff only to have the cockpit go dark as the engine flamed out. Fortunately the student had been a little bit fast on glideslope and they were able to flare and land. The water contamination test of the contents of the main fuel filter showed actual washing out of the soluble water detection media on the sample test filters. The water content was so high that it was not measurable using normal water detection technology. A SWAG at the water content was in the 20% range!

The J-52 design and the JT-8 share a common history if I recall correctly.

[lomapaseo]

Investigators typically will want to x-ray examine the fuel controls before bench testing. This should confirm if metering valves are stuck in an unexpected position.

After bench testing we could know a lot more

Of course we haven't seen any reports about the condition of the engines, as found, that confirm the level of power

Obviously things don't add up or we would have heard a lot more


I've heard nothing about the condition of the DFDR being melted. Yes it's pretty hard to do in your typical prang and ground pool fire. Mostly because it gets ejected to ground level where temperatures are cooler. I'm not sure where this one was found in this accident.

still not enough info to even speculate about