Wreckage of the Jabiru J430 light aircraft which crashed into Ikeja, Tuesday afternoon
‘Stop spreading speculations over aircraft crash in Ikeja,’ NSIB tells Lagos First Lady, others
Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has asked stakeholders and professionals in the country’s aviation industry to desist from making speculations and comments on the Jabiru J430 aircraft, which crashed into the Oba Akran area of Ikeja, in Lagos, Tuesday afternoon.
Last Tuesday, a Jabiru J430 type light single-engine aircraft with the registration number: 5N CCQ operated by the Airfirst Hospitality and Tour Ltd crashed near Lagos airport, along the Oba Akran Road, in Ikeja, with two crew members rescued alive.
The aircraft was on its way to Ibadan for a test flight.
According to the Director General of the NSIB, Engr. Akin Olateru, ‘it was unprofessional to make categorical statements and comments on the cause of a serious incident or an accident when the investigators were yet to make their findings public.’
Olateru’s advice was contained in a statement extracted from an interview granted aviation journalists by the NSIB spokesman, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi.
Olateru who expressed displeasure over statements attributed to some of the professionals in the sector on the accident, explained that ‘as professionals, they ought to know the rules guiding accident reports and standards and recommended practices stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO).’
One of the statements was attributed to the wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, had claimed that the air crash, along with the accident involving a female doctor attached to a public hospital in the state who died in an elevator accident, all on same Tuesday, was ‘a spiritual attack.’
While addressing the media, Mrs Sanwo-Olu implied that the incident was caused by a “spiritual attack” against the health sector.
In a now-viral video, Mrs Ibijoke also linked the incident to the jet accident that occurred in the state on Tuesday while seeking answers from the crowd.
“An arrow has been fired into the health family. First of August is a day I will never forget,.
“The same day a helicopter crashed, the same day a lift dropped down. How? How? How?”
Reacting, Olateru explained that ICAO Annex 13 outlines the processes leading to the conduct of an accident investigation, stressing that it says that preliminary report should be released within 30 days of the occurrence and final report within 12 months of the occurrence following the completion of investigation.
He assured that NSIB, as usual, would carry out a thorough investigation on the accident and release to the public workable recommendations to prevent recurrence.
Oketunbi warned that such speculations may ridicule the image of the country in the comity of nations and appealed to commentators on the accident to wait for the outcome of its investigation before going to the public with their personal opinions.
“People should stop all these insinuations about the immediate or remote cause of the accident. Whosoever that owns the aircraft involved in the crash doesn’t matter. This is an aviation industry, and we must not be seen to be commenting from the position of ignorance. Aviation is highly regulated, and we adhere to the standards and recommended practices of ICAO, which is the minimum.
“Everyone should wait for NSIB to commence its investigation, come out with its preliminary and final reports, which we believe will prevent a recurrence. People should allow us to do our job. We cannot be influenced by emotions or speculations that are currently in the public space. As usual, we will be professional with our investigation and reports,” he said.
