The Nigerian air carrier that crashed and killed more than 150 people will soon fly again, despite public concerns about its fleet of aging aircraft, a company executive said Thursday.

Investigators continue to probe what caused a Dana Air MD-83 to lose power in both its engines and crash June 3 in a Lagos neighborhood. Gautam Hathiramani, a member of the airline's board of directors, told The Associated Press in an interview that the carrier has complete faith in its five remaining MD-83s as airlines across the world still fly them.

"We have no hesitation to fly them again because we've always had them fully serviced and they're certified they're airworthy before they go up in the air," Hathiramani said.

Others, however, remain skeptical of the airline and authorities after the crash in Nigeria, a country that has suffered through a string of major airline crashes through the decades. The MD-83s in its fleet are all more than 20 years old, an age not unusual among airlines, though planes often require more maintenance and attention the older they become.

"It's a tried-and-tested model and it was the right size and configuration for the market," Hathiramani said.


Dana, an airline that began flying 2008, relies on Turkish maintenance company MyTechnic to service its aircraft. The airline once used Spanish international carrier Iberia to perform maintenance on its planes, but chose MyTechnic in 2010 as it could have technicians on the ground in Nigeria, Hathiramani said. The airline flies the aircraft to Istanbul for heavy maintenance checks, the executive said.

Hathiramani said that Dana still consults with Iberia, now owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group. However, an Iberia spokesman told the AP that the company ended its maintenance contract with the carrier in 2010. Hathiramani said he didn't know whether MyTechnic offered a cheaper maintenance contract than Iberia.

Dana is a major brand in Nigeria, run by Indian families who have lived in the country for decades. Its holdings also include a plastic manufacturer, a pharmaceutical arm and other industries. However, there have been safety concerns raised in the past about its importation of Kia automobiles in Nigeria, with some complaining the company refused to honor recall notices issued by the manufacturer. Hathiramani said he had no information about those complaints.

Aviation authorities have halted flights by Dana Air as an investigation into the crash of the plane coming into Lagos from the nation's capital, Abuja. Its pilots radioed in just before the crash to say both engines had failed.

Since the crash, civil aviation authorities in Nigeria have come under increasing political and public pressure. The civil aviation authority grounded Air Nigeria, the country's second-largest airline, for safety checks after a strike by engineers. On Thursday, its flights had resumed, as customers in a domestic terminal at Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport walked past a condolence registry and two lit white candles at the Dana Air check-in counter.

Hathiramani said Dana Air continued to call on relatives of those killed in the crash to come forward and identify themselves so bodies can be claimed and insurance payments be routed to families. He acknowledged the public anger the company now faces and said the company wanted both its officials and the public to know the cause of the crash before it begins flights again.

"They have every reason to know what happened," he said. "We're just as just as equally committed to finding out the true cause of what happened here."

- AP

Just for the records, age of the aircraft @ 21 years is no big deal , I checked yesterday on the British Airways Fleet Age site and they possess a large number of aircraft over 20 years which are still flying.

It's about Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance !!!!!!!!!!!!



Some of the British Airways in-service Fleet

G-BNLE 24047 753 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 15-11-1989 22.7 Years
G-BNLF 24048 773 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 28-02-1990 22.4 Years
G-BNLG 24049 774 Boeing 747-436 F14C52W36Y235 27-02-1990 22.4 Years
G-BNLI 24051 784 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 21-04-1990 OneWorld cs 22.2 Years
G-BNLJ 24052 789 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 23-05-1990 N60668 22.1 Years
G-BNLK 24053 790 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 25-05-1990 N6009F 22.1 Years
G-BNLL 24054 794 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 14-06-1990 22.1 Years
G-BNLM 24055 795 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 28-06-1990 N6009F 22 Years
G-BNLN 24056 802 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 27-07-1990 21.9 Years
G-BNLO 24057 817 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 25-10-1990 21.7 Years
G-BNLP 24058 828 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 17-12-1990 21.5 Years
G-BNLR 24447 829 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 15-01-1991 N6005C 21.5 Years
G-BNLS 24629 841 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 13-03-1991 21.3 Years
G-BNLT 24630 842 Boeing 747-436 F14J70W30Y177 19-03-1991 21.3 Years
G-BNLU 25406 895 Boeing 747-436 F14C52W36Y235 28-01-1992 20.5 Years
G-BNLV 25427 900 Boeing 747-436 F14J52W36Y235 20-02-1992 20.4 Years


There are many more, link - http://www.planespotters.net/Airline/British-Airways?show=current#AirlineFleetList

I won't trust the life of my dog with indians. Even when they are running brand new jets. No thanks!

They are very good at cutting corners. You need to see what these indians are doing in our down stream and telecom sector. 80% of indians working in nigeria are quacks and crooks parading some road side fake qualifications from delhi. We have to restrict indians and their extended brothers.

I don't know if any kind of re-branding would be able to bring dana out of the waters as I don't see any Nigerian patronising the airline.

Piyke: I don't know if any kind of re-branding would be able to bring dana out of the waters as I don't see any Nigerian patronising the airline.

You have not been listening to your local radio station in recent days, the 'rebranding' no be small... One of there ad was about thanking the Nigerian public,FG,State Govt & all various Law enforcing body in the land for there concern during the Mischap

lol