NSIB early report on Dana Air says crew, aircraft certified to fly 

• Crew had licence, certified; aircraft CoA valid

Sade Williams/Business a.m.

The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau’s (NSIB) preliminary report on the Dana Air runway incident in Lagos has found that the flight crew were licensed and certified to conduct the flight. It also found that the aircraft had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness (CoA).

Explaining how the crew conducted the flight, the report revealed that toxicological tests were conducted on the crew, adding that the tests results were negative. It also found that there was no fire recorded following the runway incident.

“The occurrence was survivable in that the passenger restraint system (seat belts and shoulder harnesses) was intact, and there was liveable volume for the occupants,” the report stated.

The NSIB explained that in trying to land the aircraft, the crew selected “DOWN”, the Main Landing Gear Indication Lights were GREEN, while the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Indication Light was RED.

The crew started recycling the Gear selection up and then down, but the NLG remained red until touchdown.

The crew, it stated further, consulted the QRH and proceeded with the emergency gear extension checklist, but the red Indication Light remained.

According to the report, the crew stated that they did a Lo-pass over the station during the Go-Around and requested Air Traffic Control to check if the Nose Landing Gear was extended.

It noted that the ATC responded, “It appears to be down.”

“Upon landing, the Ground Spoilers did not deploy automatically, according to the crew. During the Landing Roll, the crew stated that there was severe vibration accompanied by a loud noise coming from the Nose Landing Gear area, which remained extended until 80 knots before it collapsed.

“The Captain commanded evacuation, using the Forward Service Door due to safety concerns from the Main Entry Door side. As the cabin crew opened the Forward Service Door, the Escape Slide deployed automatically, and the occupants evacuated safely without any injury,”  the report further stated.

The NSIB noted that further investigative actions would include analysis of the flight recorder recording, gathering further evidence/information relating to the occurrence and inspection and examination of the related aircraft systems and components.

The Dana Air aircraft with registration number 5N BKI, which was flying from Abuja to Lagos in April, got involved in a runway excursion at Lagos airport.

The NSIB sent a Go-team to the scene of the incident as it began investigation immediately.

But before the release of this preliminary report, Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, had directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the airline pending the conclusion of investigation, a situation which attracted  public criticism.