Lagos Helicopter Crash Report Indicates Chopper Had Empty Fuel Tank On Site
…Says Pilot’s Medical Examination Valid Till Aug 6
A preliminary report on the helicopter crash that happened in Lagos last month has been released by the Accident Investigation Bureau.
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The crash, which occurred on August 28 around the Opebi area of Lagos, involved a Bell 206B III Helicopter.
The chopper, marked 5N-BQW, was operated by Quorum Aviation Limited.
A major finding was that the chopper had an empty fuel tank after it crashed, though it was not equipped to dump fuel while in flight.
According to the report, the helicopter had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness, while the pilot’s last medical examination was valid till 6th August, 2020.
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The report added that there was no evidence to show that an application for the exemption provided by the All Operators’ Letter AOL DG020/20 had been submitted to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
It disclosed that the helicopter had no capacity to dump fuel, even though it had a long-range extender fuel system.
The AIB report also revealed that on 27 August, the aircraft was refuelled to full capacity.
After refuelling, 10 minutes of engine run and 20 minutes of test flight were also said to have been carried out on the helicopter in Port Harcourt.
The report said: “The helicopter was fitted with a range-extender fuel system. No fuel jettisoning capability on this helicopter. The helicopter has an endurance of 3:24h. The operational flight plan filed by the pilot indicated an endurance of 3:15h and an estimated flight time of 2:45h,”
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“The helicopter engine started at 09:15h, took off at 09:20h, and crashed at 12:14h.
“Post occurrence examination revealed that the fuel tanks were empty. The mast and main rotor blades were found intact during the post-crash inspection.”
It continued: “The helicopter was not equipped with a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder. Neither was required by the relevant aviation regulations but equipped with a Garmic GNC Global Positioning System.”
The report added that the helicopter took off from Port Harcourt at 9.20am.
It was also estimated that it would arrive in Lagos after two hours forty minutes.
The aircraft crashed into a residential building at about 12:14pm, with three persons loosing their lives.
