OPINION18
Dana Air flight ‎537 is a disaster waiting to happen – A passenger’s ordeal
by Simon Ateba

At 30,000 feet above sea level, ‎up there in the sky and just five minutes after taking off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, western Nigeria, the Dana Air Flight 537 to Abuja began to bounce, shake and struggle.

This was just few minutes to four o’clock in the afternoon and this was when the over 20-year old MD-83 Dana‎ plane was filled to capacity.

The weather was great, the sun was up and turbulence was minimal when we all left Lagos excited to visit Nigeria’s ‎luxurious capital of Abuja.

I was going to Abuja to attend a bloggers’ party at ‎House Forty Three located at 43 Gana Street in Maitama, a highbrow area in Abuja. ‎The party was organised by “A Login Bloggers Network Initiative” with the theme #WetinUDeyBlogSef.

It was an event that had been in the pipeline for two months and excitement was at the very peak.

However, few minutes after taking off, the engine began scream and the plane began to go up and down. We will begin to go down and down and then up and up in za sudden switch.

Passengers on board the old plane began to pray. I wanted to sleep, but sleep failed to come and when food was served, I did not have strength to eat. ‎I was petrified.

This was in addition to the heat. It was as if the cooling system had crashed right from before the old plane took off.

A cabin crew who received a complaint from a passenger said the plane was hot because there were many people on board.

The second cabin crew told us when the plane takes off and we fly for some minutes the cooling system will be normalised.

We all pray for a safe flight, not sure we will make it to Abuja. The latest scare came few minutes to landing. The loud sound that was coming from the engine was similar to the once banned Molue buses on Lagos chaotic traffic snarls.

The noise lasted until we touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja more than an hour after we left Lagos contrary to the 55 minutes we were told for the duration of the flight. ‎

At landing, passengers began to thank their God for a miraculous flight. One passenger approached airport authorities to lodge an official complaint. ‎Another said he had been flying Dana in recent times and it has always been smooth but added: “this very plane seems to be faulty”.

‎The Dana Air flight ‎537 to Abuja from Lagos on Friday afternoon almost crashed and may crash in few months if nothing is done fast by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.‎

You know, I have lived long enough, and got white hair by the way to know that whether here in Abuja, central Nigeria, where I am writing this, thanking God for my life or over there, wherever you’re reading it, the truth remains that if that plane is not fixed urgently, it will kill many people in just few weeks. ‎

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http://ynaija.com/dana-air-flight-%e2%80%8e537-is-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-a-passengers-ordeal/

ok thanks for the information..

Thanks,noted

Choi

Thank God for your life.Hope the proper authorities are taking note.

Thanks for this info Sir, Let's hope that NCAA comes to the rescue. Better still if we could have the call sign ( the 5N--- tag) of the that particular aircraft, we can occupy NCAA/DANA until something is done. Proactive measure is always a better and safer option

obviously the writer is suffering from phobia or hypertension because this is a clear case of turbulence!


Report Out: Nigerian Minister of Aviation Investigates Dana Air following my story
Simon Ateba Dec 11th, 2014 0 Comment
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By Simon Ateba/Lagos
The Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has concluded an investigation ‎into the Dana Air Flight 357 to Abuja last Friday following an expose by www.simonateba.com.

The publisher of www.simonateba.com, Mr. Simon Ateba, had left Lagos on Friday to attend a bloggers party in Maitama area of Abuja, boarding Dana Air Flight 357 at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
But only about five minutes after the MD-83 plane took off, the aircraft began to bounce in a terrible and traumatic way.
Here was the story:
http://simonateba.com/2014/12/06/inside-scary-dana-flight-almost-crashed‎/
The Minister opened an investigation and here is the report. A few lies were told to the Minister but it’s a first good step.
Report is as followed. ‎
‎
‎
‎All, I posted the complaint by simon because I want full transparency on issues affecting passengers. Since he posted it online I had no choice but to handle it online to assure passengers and ensure transparency. Please find below a summary report of preliminary investigation by NCAA. I will keep you all posted as we have more information.

SUBJECT:DANA AIRLINES INVESTIGATION REPORTThis Investigation was triggered by a complaint by Mr. Simon Ateba received via the social media and forwarded to the Authority. The Director of Operations and Training ordered immediate investigation to establish what transpired.OPERATIONS INSPECTORS:
1. Lawal AbdulKadiri – CSI
2. Augustine Eboigbe – GOI
3. Ayo Jimoh – GOI
DANA FLIGHT CREW OF FLIGHT 357:
1. Terry Harvey – Captain
2. Kowander George – First Officer
3. Jatto Iyabo – SCCM
4. Adejoh Uferi – CC2
5. Chigbufue Augusta – CC3
6. Amazu Ifeoma – CC4

PEOPLE INTERVIEWED:
1. DANA Operations Management Team members available
2. DANA Capt. Terry Harvey (PIC of Flight 357 of 05/12/2014)

OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS:
1. The Flight Number was 357 Lagos to Abuja
2. The Complainant – Mr. Simon Ateba, was on board DANA Flight 357 (Seat 14E) Lagos to Abuja on Friday, 5th December 2014 as per attached Passenger Manifest
3. The flight was schedule to depart in the afternoon at 1530 local time but departed on time at 1529 local time
4. Weather report (METAR & TAF) and Low Level Significant Weather Chart attached indicated Thunder Storm and Cumulonimbus clouds activities along the route.
5. The PIC interviewed confirmed there was cloud activities enroute but he could not confirm if the passengers were briefed during the turbulent period but he confirmed there was briefing when they got out of the weather
6. The PIC confirmed that the cabin temperature on ground during boarding was hot due to outside temperature that was reporting 32 degree Celsius but it normalized after take-off.
7. Head of Ground Operations confirmed that the complainant was called immediately they got the report.

CONCLUSION:
After deep evaluation of the flight documents and interview with the PIC, the following were established:
1. That the cabin was hot on ground during boarding
2. That there was significant weather activities TS and Turbulence along the route all the way to Bida, during the flight.
3. That the reported weather activities were enough to cause bumpy ride for the larger duration of the flight

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Based on the observations, findings and conclusions above, it will be pertinent as a matter of reassuring the passenger of their safety for the Pilot In Command to brief passengers when experiencing turbulence during flight.

Sir, attached are the Passengers Manifest, Voyage Report, Tech Log, Flight Release, Flight Report TAF and Meta.‎