By Utibe Inyang
On October 29, 2009, a helicopter crash involving a Bell 407 Helicopter (5N-BIC) near Gitto Construczioni site within the Victor Attah Interntional Airport (VAIA) Uyo – Nigeria became the first crash of the airport. The helicopter was owned and operated by Gitto Construczioni Generali Nigeria Limited.
It departed Calabar to Port Harcourt at about 1230hrs on a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) positioning flight with the Pilot and an Engineer on board. A few minutes after departing Calabar for Port Harcourt, the transmission chip detector indication was noticed at a location close to Gitto Site in Uyo. The Pilot made a radio call to Eket of the intention to divert to Uyo due technical fault. On landing at Uyo, the Maintenance Engineer reported that maintenance inspection was carried out on the transmission oil system; the three chip detector plugs on the transmission were checked and found satisfactory. The Pilot decided to continue the flight from Uyo to Port Harcourt. Less than five minutes after take-off, the engine chip detector indication came on and about thirty seconds after, the engine oil pressure showed zero. The Pilot decided to make an air return but could not make it to the Helipad as there was a ‘bang’ from the engine; and the aircraft dropped uncontrolled to the ground and crashed near Gitto Construczioni site within the airport. The Pilot was seriously injured while the Engineer sustained minor injuries.
Report by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) revealed that this air mishap was caused by human error with the following causal and contributory factors:
- Improper maintenance of the oil system which led to oil starvation resulting in the failure of the No. 6, 7, and 8 bearings in the power turbine section of the engine;
- Improper identification by the pilot of the transmission chip light illumination during flight instead of the engine chip light;
- The decision of the pilot to continue with the flight from Uyo to Port Harcourt International Airport without identifying the cause of the transmission chip; and
- The Engineer’s license had expired eight months before the crash (not in accordance with the Regulations – Nig.CARs 2.6.2.9); and hence, was not authorized to release the helicopter for flight.
REFERENCE
aib.gov.ng
