Eze Anyanwu, Senior Media Executive, Dana Air has debunked allegations that the aircraft involved in the crash was not serviceable, calling them totally baseless and false.
He said the plane had been maintained correctly and fully in accordance with the manufacturer’s schedule and directives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“At Dana Air, the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance and we adhere strictly to the maintenance schedule of all our aircraft as prescribed by the manufacturers, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA),” Anyanwu said.
“The aircraft involved in the accident had its last 400-hourly check (A-Check) on May 30, 2012. The statutory annual maintenance (C-Check) is not due until September 2012. The Certificate of Airworthiness issued by the NCCA after the last C-Check was completely valid as at the time of the incident.”
He stressed that the age of the Boeing MD83 fleet does not make them unsafe.
“Indeed, there are aircraft of a similar age operating in the fleets of major airlines around the world. The key factor is to ensure that aircraft, whatever their age, are correctly maintained at all times,” he explained.
“Dana Air has been in operation since 2008, with five fully insured Boeing MD83 aircraft in its fleet. The airline has grown to become one of Nigeria’s leading airlines, operating up to 27 flights daily to Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Calabar.
“The cause of the accident is still currently being investigated by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), with technical assistance from the US National Safety Transportation Board (NTSB), as Dana Air’s operations have been subsequently grounded by the NCAA.”
Anyanwu said Dana Air was not currently operating flights–a decision taken by the management to pay respect to the crash victims and their families.
“We have not only lost some loyal and valued guests of our airline, but some of our finest and most dedicated staff too. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and friends of the deceased in these difficult times, and we will continue to do everything possible to assist them,” he said.
“Within a few hours of the crash, a 24-hour call centre service was set up at the airport in Lagos, as Dana Air co-ordinates with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to ensure that every possible assistance is given to the friends and families of the victims.
“We are doing everything possible to assist the 40 residents who have been displaced. We are arranging temporary accommodation for them, and providing them with materials such as beds, blankets, provisions and utensils.”
He also dispelled rumours that the plane that crashed was the same as that which had hydraulic issues a while back.
“This is not the same aircraft that had the hydraulic pressure issue that has been referred to in some media reports. Each aircraft is identified by its registration number and, while the aircraft that operated that flight had Reg. No. 5N-SRI, this one has Reg. No. 5N-RAM,” he said.
Speaking further, the senior media executive noted that the first insurance payments would be made shortly to the grieving families.
Also, urgent steps have been taken by the insurers to identify the families of the Iju-Ishaga community and establish the extent of their losses, to enable appropriate calculations of the compensation to be made.
Dana Air has a maintenance agreement with MyTechnic, an international, world-class aviation maintenance organisation (MRO) which performs and supervises all local maintenance tasks including daily servicing and release of its aircraft for operations.
