Several members of the aviation committee of the House of Representatives investigating the operations of Dana Airline today dueled with the company’s management over the airline’s safety record.
Members of the legislative committee shared anecdotes of their unsettling experiences, dating back to 2010, whilst traveling on the airline. However, the management of DANA Airline strongly denied knowledge of any of the safety issues raised by the legislators. In addition, the airline justified its detention of 23 passengers on a July 14, 2010 flight that had a potential air danger, citing company policy.
Captain Oscar Wilson, Dana’s director of flight operations, denied that the aircraft that crashed on June 3rd in a Lagos slum was manufactured in 1983. Instead, he insisted that the doomed aircraft was manufactured in October 1990.
Mr. Wilson also disputed claims that all the planes in the airline’s fleet are old, but he put the average age of the company’s five planes at 21 years.
The director of flight operations further told the committee that the most important factor in an aircraft was not its age but its history of regular maintenance. “A three month [old] craft can as well crash if not regularly maintained. The age of aircraft does not determine their safety or airworthiness,” argued Mr. Wilson, adding that the ill-fated plane had its last maintenance check in September 2011.
Jacky Hathramani, Dana’s Managing Director, also spoke before the committee on the condition of the crashed aircraft. He disclosed that the airline’s maintenance checks were done by a Turkey-based company called MYTECHNIC. Mr. Hathramani also stated that the crashed aircraft had its last C-Check in September 2011, but he failed to provide documents to back up his claim.
Committee chair, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, noted during the interactive session that the airline had flouted a directive in 2009 to modify the engines of a certain Dana aircraft before obtaining an airworthiness certification. Ms. Onyejeocha suggested that the company’s failure to comply posed safety risks to its passengers.
Godwin Ike, a member of the House committee, detailed his frightful experience as a passenger on a Dana flight on July 14, 2010. He disclosed that some technical hitches prevented the aircraft’s engine from starting. He said that he, alongside 22 other passengers, had sought to disembark from the aircraft, worried about the potential danger posed by the craft that had to be manually started by the pilot after the engines had failed to start in the normal way. Mr. Ike said he and 22 other passengers were detained at the airport by the Dana management, regaining their freedom only after the aircraft landed safely at its destination. He accused the airline of
poor safety measures and human rights violation.
But Mr. Wilson rejected Mr. Ike’s complaints, stating that the detention of the 23 passengers was in keeping with the company’s policy. He disclosed that, whenever a passenger disembarks from an aircraft bound for departure, the airline ensures that such passenger is detained until the craft from which he or she disembarked is confirmed to have landed safely.
Although he stated that a disembarking passenger could have planted a harmful device on a plane before deciding to disembark, he did not speak about why the company would not ground the faulty aircraft from which passengers disembarked – to provide passengers with another plane in a better condition for a safe flight.
Officials of DANA Airline also denied reports of previous technical faults with their airline. Captain Wilson said the crashed plane had never been grounded for any technical issue prior to the June 3rd crash at Iju-Ishaga in Lagos.
Following the crash of DANA Flight 992, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom revealed that he had warned the airline of the poor safety condition of its craft. But at today’s hearing, Mr. Wilson said he was aware of Governor Akpabio’s warning, but said he wasn’t sure if the crashed aircraft was the particular one the governor Akpabio complained about.
At the hearing, a witness spoke about a slack door on a Dana flight that was rubber-taped to hold it in place for departure, but the Dana director of flight operations denied knowledge of the incident.
Miffed by the denials by Dana management, Emmanuel Okon, a member of the aviation committee, recounted a series of ugly personal experiences with the airline. He also said he was aware of occasions when the airline’s flights were aborted due to technical woes. Mr. Okon related an experience on December 28, 2011 when all passengers on a Dana aircraft had to disembark as the engine failed to start. He disclosed that a technical crew was flown from Lagos to Uyo to fix the fault. Besides, the airline was involved in an emergency landing case on May 10.
Other cited incidents included one when the plane’s gear failed to come out at landing and another, on May 28, when a Dana plane reportedly made a return after take-off, but was soon put back in operation, according to passengers.
Dana officials at today’s session said the crashed plane had been operating in Nigeria for three and a half years. Captain Wilson also disclosed that the ill-fated craft was acquired in 2008.
