Indian Owned Dana Air Crash Highlights Air Safety Concerns In Nigeria

When a Dana Air plane crashed in Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday, it aroused concerns that, despite improvements made over the last five years, there are still major safety issues in the West African nation's aviation industry.
Nigerian air safety authorities have confirmed that at least 153 people perished when the plane crashed into a residential building in Ishaga, a neighborhood near Murtala Muhammed Airport. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 was on its way from the capital Abuja when it crashed into the two-story building Sunday, killing all on board. The number of casualties on the ground remains unclear, but state-owned Radio Nigeria puts the number at 10.
"At about 3:43 p.m. local time, Dana Flight 0992 from Abuja to Lagos declared an emergency, a call for May Day to the Lagos control tower, from about 11 nautical miles," Aviation Minister Stella Oduah told state-owned NTA television on Monday. "A minute later the aircraft disappeared from the air traffic control radar."
The tragedy was Nigeria's fourth major crash in the past decade and the worst since Jan. 22, 1973 when a passenger plane carrying 176 passengers and crew went down in the northern provincial capital of Kano.
After a spate of cashes in 2005, Nigeria made improving its aviation safety record a priority. President Goodluck Jonathan echoed that sentiment on Sunday.
Indian-owned Dana Air, based out of Lagos' Murtala Muhammed Airport, has grown to become one of the oil-rich nation's leading airlines since its inaugural flight from Lagos to Abuja in November 2008, operating over 18 daily domestic flights to Abuja, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Uyo. According to the airline's website, it was named "Best Safety and Security Conscious Airline in Nigeria" at the Security Watch Africa Awards in September 2010.
04/06/12 Mark Johanson/IB Traveler

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2012, Safety Jun 2012