Barely two months after a Sikorsky SK76 helicopter operated by East Aviation crashed in Port Harcourt, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has disclosed that its handlers violated several of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations directives.
Although the bureau was silent on whether or not the vices led to the unfortunate incident, the act shows gaps in the regulatory duties of the NCAR.
The helicopter, which was contracted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar on October 24, with six passengers and two crew members.
Five bodies of the eight victims have been recovered while the remaining three are still yet to be found.
While reeling out the preliminary findings of the bureau on the accident, The Director-General of NSIB, Alex Badeh, on Tuesday told journalists in Abuja that the crashed helicopter was not fitted with a Flight Data Recorder, a violation of the Part 7.8.2.2(q) of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) Act 2023
Badeh added that the helicopter crew members used non-standard phraseology throughout the flight.
The preliminary findings of the bureau read partly, “The helicopter was fitted with a solid-state cockpit voice recorder; The helicopter was not fitted with a Flight Data Recorder; although Part 7.8.2.2(q) of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) 2023 requires that FDR shall be fitted on the helicopter; The flight crew used non-standard phraseology throughout the flight.”
