Confusing Reports About Sosoliso Airlines Crash
Ikenna Emeka Okpani
Daily Trust
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Port Harcourt (Nigeria):
There are confusing reports about what exactly happened to the DC9 aircraft of Sosoliso Airlines which crashed at the Port-Harcourt international airport as it was trying to land.
Civil aviation officials said it missed the runway, but witnesses said they saw it land on the tarmac and break into pieces.
There has been no official word on the cause of the crash.Seven weeks ago, a Bell-view aircraft flying from Lagos to Abuja crashed at Lisa village in Ogun state killing all 117 people on board. The cause of the crash is yet to be established.
Information Minister, Frank Nweke Jnr said at the weekend that Sosoliso was generally viewed as safe and, as far as he knows, has an accident-free record.
President Olusegun Oba-sanjo said just after the Bellview crash in October that Nigeria would “plug loopholes” in its aviation sector and strengthen compliance with maintenance standards. Investigators from the aviation ministry were on their way to the Port Harcourt crash site on Saturday evening, officials said, adding that the airport was closed to all flights.
Sosoliso flies mainly domestic routes and is one of two Nigerian airlines operating on the busy Abuja-Port Harcourt route.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday announced that it has recovered the black box and flight recorder of the Sosoliso aircraft.Speaking yesterday at the airport after inspecting the wreckage, the Minister of Aviation, Prof. Babalola Borishade said an American expert on air disaster investigations was already working with local experts.
Dec 12, 2005
Ikenna Emeka OkpaniDaily Trust
________
Port Harcourt (Nigeria):
There are confusing reports about what exactly happened to the DC9 aircraft of Sosoliso Airlines which crashed at the Port-Harcourt international airport as it was trying to land.
Civil aviation officials said it missed the runway, but witnesses said they saw it land on the tarmac and break into pieces.
There has been no official word on the cause of the crash.Seven weeks ago, a Bell-view aircraft flying from Lagos to Abuja crashed at Lisa village in Ogun state killing all 117 people on board. The cause of the crash is yet to be established.
Information Minister, Frank Nweke Jnr said at the weekend that Sosoliso was generally viewed as safe and, as far as he knows, has an accident-free record.
President Olusegun Oba-sanjo said just after the Bellview crash in October that Nigeria would “plug loopholes” in its aviation sector and strengthen compliance with maintenance standards. Investigators from the aviation ministry were on their way to the Port Harcourt crash site on Saturday evening, officials said, adding that the airport was closed to all flights.Sosoliso flies mainly domestic routes and is one of two Nigerian airlines operating on the busy Abuja-Port Harcourt route.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday announced that it has recovered the black box and flight recorder of the Sosoliso aircraft.Speaking yesterday at the airport after inspecting the wreckage, the Minister of Aviation, Prof. Babalola Borishade said an American expert on air disaster investigations was already working with local experts.
Dec 12, 2005
