A preliminary report released Friday by the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) has revealed that a plane crash that occurred barely two weeks ago in Lagos was caused by both engine failure and human error.
AIPB Commissioner Capt. Mukthar Usman said this while presenting the report to newsmen in Abuja.
From the report, it was gathered that the voice recorder which captured the conversation among crew members at the onset of the flight revealed that they were worried about the condition of the plane.
The report also stated that during the short period the flight lasted, the right engine of the aircraft produced less thrust than the left engine.
The four pages report read partly: ?The crew expressed some concerns about the aircraft prior to departure but at this time we are not prepared to elaborate on those concerns as there remains a lot of work to complete on cockpit voice recorder analysis in order to determine the specific nature of the crew?s concerns.
?Approximately four seconds after engine power was raised for takeoff roll, the crew received an automated warning from the on-board computer voice which consisted of three chimes followed by announcement of take off flaps, take off flaps.?
?The crew ignored this first warning,? said Captain Usman
The document further showed that a short while later, the co-pilot (First officer) in the aircraft complained that the plane was moving slowly and suggested that the flight should be aborted.
According to the report: ?Approximately seven seconds after the ?set power? call was made by the captain and confirmed by the co-pilot, the internal aircraft voice warning system could be heard stating ?take off flaps, take off flaps, auto feather.?
Captain Usman explained that this meant that the propellers of the aircraft were not producing enough thrust required for the take-off of the aircraft.?
