By Jerry Uwah
The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) yesterday released what it described as “an updated second Interim Statement on the Dana Crash of June 3, 2012,” stating that it was still investigating the engine teardown especially the fuel systems suspected to have brought down the MD83 in Iju, Ishaga, Lagos.
Meanwhile, the corona’s inquest on the cause of the crash ended on its second anniversary with an inconclusive verdict.
The magistrate, Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, who served as corona on the inquest said he could not decide on the cause of the crash because AIB did not send him its report on the cause of the crash.
The corona in his verdict which lasted one hour, however, listed nine steps the government must take to avoid a similar mishap in the future.
Lagos human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, had initiated the corona’s inquest.
Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, spokesman for AIB, however, said during the process of investigating the crash, a similar incident occurred on another MD 83 aircraft of Dana Airlines on October 6, 2013.
He insisted that AIB was currently investigating in-depth systematic and safety issues associated with this second incident vis-à-vis, the crashed sister ship, 5N-RAM, adding that the safety actions adopted by the operator to redress the findings were being monitored and analysed.
He said the Draft Final Report “is currently in progress in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 and will be released accordingly in due course.”
Oketunbi said: “Three interim safety recommendations were made to Dana Airlines and one to the Regulatory Authority respectively. These recommendations were accepted and have been implemented by the operator and the Regulatory Authority.”
It would be recalled a Dana Air MD 83 aircraft crashed in Iju Ishaga area of Lagos, killing all 153 passengers on board and 6 on the ground on June 3, 2012.
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