Akainzo:

This is bonkum. The foreign stations do not have access to Dana Airlines maintenance records, so how would they have know??
Are station managers more knowledgeable about planes than the pilots flying them, or the engineers working on them?

We should desist from spreading false stories! And this should NOT have made Front Page news seeing that only 1 post is there or are you using your powers as a moderator to propagate this falsehood?

Falsehood? Which part?
Besides to the question of whether Station Managers should know better than the rest I would say 'YES' they should. Engr reports to them don't they and it was higher mngt that insisted the plan fly, where did u hear the pilot or engrs go the plane a green light? YOU should stop spreading falsehoods yourself.

Dana aircraft makes emergency landing in Lagos

Written by Shola Adekola, Lagos Friday, 11 May 2012

AN MD 83 aircraft belonging to Dana Air, with 86 passengers onboard from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Thursday evening, made an emergency landing at the 19-R runway and was towed away after it blocked the international runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

The aircraft ran into problem while preparing to land at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, as it suffered hydraulic pressure, a situation that forced the pilot to declare an emergency landing.

The aircraft was cleared for landing in 19-R, the longer runway, but after landing, passengers were panicky, as most of the evacuation buses did not arrive on time.

Corporate Communication Manager of Dana Air, Mr Tony Usidaimen, confirmed the incident.

“Our flight from Uyo with 86 passengers lost hydraulic pressure and when the captain noticed it, he declared an emergency and was asked to land on 19-R. Although there was no injury, there was a panic, because the evacuation team did not arrive on time,” he said.

The Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren, who also confirmed the incident, said he was impressed with the fact that the pilot decided to land at the longer international runway, adding that “it shows that we are getting our safety management systems right.”

. . . . . . . and after this, it was given clearance to continue flying. No form of investigation was carried out. . Some people should be jailed.

This selfish attitudes frm airline operators n owners shld attract a death sentence.

The Guardian reports that the Dana Air craft was 22-years-old. Nigeria, however, has a ban on aircraft over 20 years old, according to Fox News.
Is this true?
Nigerians!!!!!!!!!!!!

t2luv:

The plane was built in 1983. It is bigger verison of DC 81. That is beside the point. With proper maintenance a plane can still fly at 30 years old. Delta fly a lot of MD88 that are at least 30 years old. Both MD88 and this plan in question were built by the same company in St Louis.

20 years IS far to old for a plane and that is the reason other countries do not use planes of this age. Expecting maintenance of any decent standard to be carried out in Nigeria is a joke. Its never happened before and wont start now. If the USA, Europe and the Middle East dont use such old planes, then why does Nigeria. Nigeria even more than other places needs newer planes because they are useless at maintenance. Health and Saftey mean absolutely nothing in Nigeria and they are always content with managing things. Low standards through and through.

This aircraft had a history of problems before it even came into Nigeria. Despite it being declared unfit to make this flight (and previous ones), it still flew. This plane had landing problems earlier on the same day as teh crash, I know someone who was on it. Who in God's name allowed this to happen It cannot be the owners of the airline that have the final say on whether a plane is fit to fly. Bribery and corruption must have paid a big part in this and I hope that those involved never have a peaceful nights rest from this day forward. The blood of all those that died is on their hands.

This disaster took the life of my cousin; mother of three, wife, sister and daughter. There is no way they should be allowed to get away with this. Its time Nigerians started reaslising that they have gained independence and stand up like other African nations. The state of the country is absolutely terrible. The fact that Dana could spead rumours that the flight was in distress but the presidents wife was flying, is simply because flights are delayed because of this reason. I've experienced flight delays in Nigeria and been told it was due to 'VIP movement' Na wah oh.

Its time consultants from the western world were drafted in to create a decent infrastructure, as its very clear Nigeria are incapable of doing so. The cheek of native Nigerians, telling Nigerians abroad to come home and help their country. If Nigerians cannot adhere to the required aviation standards for domestic flights, they should STOP flying...simple. It's beyond help and I have no intention of ever returning to live there and put the lives of my children at stake in that primitive, uncivilised nation.

I appreciate all the emotions and comments expressed here because every one of us has been affected in one way or the other by the tragic accident. This is not about chicks, it's about precious human lives lost! And, while it's hard enough to lose a loved one (I too lost a very close friend, Eke Godwin), how does one cope with the loss of 6 family members? It is, indeed, very devastating!

It is also very worrisome that, while the hearts of Nigerians, and the whole world, were still very heavy from the shocking news of the accident, some 'heartless' persons decided to heat up the polity even more by circulating all sorts of falsehood about the circumstances surrounding the accident; the most cruel being that the airline's management forced its flight crew (who 'these persons' forget are human beings just like the rest of us, with families and friends waiting for them back home) to operate a faulty aircraft. One is forced to ask, could anyone of us accept to risk his/her own life (and the life of others) to enrich your employers (assuming the claims of these persons concerning management of Dana Air were true)if you were the pilot on the ill-fated flight? I definitely wouldn't! I would rather go back to the warm embrace of my family. I knew the Co-Pilot, Mike, very well; he was such a friendly, lively and passionate person. The American pilot, Captain Waxton, too had two daughters, and I'm sure he would have loved to see them again.

[b]It's so sad that nothing can bring back my friend Eke, and all the beautiful souls lost in the accident; may their souls rest in peace (Amen)! However, like with air accidents everywhere in the world, the real cause of the accident must be ascertained so as to prevent future occurrence as much as possible. The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has now released its preliminary report while investigations continue. In case you didn't know, the investigating authorities comprise the AIB, the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), manufacturers of the aircraft (Boeing) and engine manufacturers (Pratt & Whitney).

Paragraph 13 of the report states "A review of the aircraft technical logs of the previous 30 days did not indicate a condition. The airplane had last undergone maintenance on 1st June 2012, and after a return to service flight on 2nd June 2012, it was operated on four revenue flights (two round trips between LOS and ABV) and another four flights on 3rd June 2012.” This, I believe, answers questions raised over the serviceability (airworthiness) of the aircraft. As per the submissions made by the Commissioner/CEO of AIB “The content of this report is based on preliminary information. The Bureau will continue to conduct the investigation in a meticulous and methodical manner and release facts as they become validated”. [/b]

On its part, Dana Air continues to offer full cooperation and assistance to the investigating authorities. This, as well as support for families of the victims, has been the major focus of the airline since the incident. The airline is as determined as the rest of Nigerians to find out the true cause of the June 3 accident and has honoured every invitation by the AIB since investigations began. Dana Air was also fully represented at the recently concluded joint Senate & House of Representatives Public Hearing and, though the company has not received any summons from the Coroner to testify at the on-going inquest in Lagos into circumstances surrounding the accident, it will ensure that a proper representation is made on the next adjourned date.

In honour of its duty to the families of those who lost loved ones in the accident, interim payments to the next-of-kin who have completed legal verification of their documents have commenced. The airline remains in contact with all the families and relatives through the Crisis Management Centres which it established in Lagos and Abuja, and will continue to assist them in this process. Dana Air is also working closely with LASEMA with regards to rehabilitation of the displaced Iju-Ishaga residents. Relief materials were donated and steps have been taken to provide accommodation for the severely affected residents while all efforts are being made to ensure that losses caused by the accident are indemnified.

The typical airliner has hundreds of systems, each comprising of dozens of components. Most systems have redundancies as required by law. It is not unusual to have to have aircraft flying around with known faults. The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) lays down the limitations of flying with defects.
Most aircraft in the MD83 category have a total life cycle of about 50000 flying hours or 75000 cycles which ever comes first. The Dana aircraft were definitely within this limit. In fact, with improvements in maintenance aircraft can be operated indefinitely (known as "on condition"). Most operators will replace older aircraft with newer ones due to high fuel consumption and high maintenance costs, and not safety.
Scandinavian SAS got rid of their Dash8 Q400 fleet following a series of high proile incidents, to improve the company image. These aeroplanes were hurriedly purchased ny other carriers.
What matters is how the airline deals with these faults. There are airlines in Nigeria that ignore the restrictions laid down by manufacturers and the authorities. It is the duty of the NCAA to ensure airlines comply, but the NCAA is really deficient in its function.
The fact that DANA Air aircraft in the past had malfunctions and the pilots terminated the flights is commendable. There are many operators in Nigeria who will continue to their destination so they dont draw attention to their unscrupulous practices. Also the NCAA does not promote air returns. NCAA officials will immediately ground aircraft following an air return even after the faults have been rectified by licensed engineers. The NCAA has issued instructions to the air traffic controllers to not let an aircraft depart and airport following an air return until an NCAA official has cleared the aircraft. Most of these NCAA inspectors are not even familiar witht he aircraft they are inpecting. Sometimes pilots may do an air return just as a precaution even when something is not wrong just to double check so as to have that 100% confidence that safety is assured. If you do that you will recieve an instant NCAA grounding. As a result, a lot of pilots try not to report incident to air traffic control.
20 year old airplanes are very common in the western world. Some of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft operated by British Airways on a lot of routes including Lagos-London are over 20 years old. Northwest airlines operated it DC9 fleet till they were about 31 years old. The United states air force B52 bombers are going to be operated till they are 80 years old! a significant proportion of the world's cargo fleet flew for decades in airlines before undergiong conversion to cargo aircraft.

@tonyusidamen

nice job setting the records straight.