Agagu Still to be Buried Today Despite Air Mishap • 13 die, seven survive • IT was conveyed only in whispers, initially. Then sadness. Pain. And disbelief: it couldn’t be true that the aircraft carrying the body of the late former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Agagu to his final resting place crashed. But the site revealed it all. Charred remains of the aircraft and the mangled coffin showed the reality of the crash at the Ikeja Airport, Lagos. The tragedy occurred a year after the nation recorded its worst air accident with the crash of a DANA aircraft. The accident was shocking, considering that Agagu was a former Minister of Aviation between 1999 and 2001 and the crash occurred in a sector he superintended. Yesterday’s crash involving Associated Airline’s Embraer aircraft 120 with registration number 5N-BJY, killed 12 of the 20 persons on-board. The survivors were a pilot, an aircraft engineer and six others whose identities could not be ascertained as at press time. Initially, six people were confirmed to have survived, but later in the day, reports came that eight actually survived with various degrees of injuries. Sympathisers thronged the site, which was filled with the smell of burnt human flesh, to catch a glimpse of the wreckage. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Lagos State Fire Service were at the scene of the accident to put out the fire. Eyewitnesses said the aircraft also had on-board close family members of the late politician. But in this regard, there were conflicting reports from the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and other relevant authorities. Sources said the 30-seater aircraft had been parked on the Lagos airport apron for over a year and should not have been allowed to operate. However, neither the NCAA nor the operators of the airplane were yet to confirm the allegation yesterday. The aircraft renewed its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on February 23, 2013 and it will expire on February 15, 2015. The cause of the accident is still in the realm of conjecture as the AIB Commissioner, Captain Usman Muktar, disclosed that an investigation would commence immediately. The accident occurred around 9.30 a.m. near a farm tank popularly referred to as Joint Users Hydrant Installations (JUHI). The JUHI serves as a depot for oil marketers to store aviation fuel, otherwise known as JET A1. The disaster would have been more tragic had the plane which was said to have hovered for some seconds plunged into one of the fuel tanks. The aircraft crashed less than 30 metres to the farm. An eyewitness told My Political Arena that the plane crashed about 20 seconds after it took off from the airport, Lagos. He said the incident was like a film from Hollywood, stressing that he watched as the captain struggled to gain height after takeoff but lost control and crashed in the area. He stated that it was obvious that the craft wobbled to gain altitude. Search and rescue were concluded by 11.55 a.m. and Agagu’s body was brought out of the charred plane. His remains, tucked inside a MIC gold-plated casket, were the last to be removed after rescue operators had cut open the aluminum frame of the light airplane. Tears flowed freely when hundreds of people sighted the casket bearing his remains. But there was pandemonium as different security operatives struggled to bear the casket. Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were also seen at the site as they engaged in a shouting match over who should take custody of Agagu’s body. But the officers of the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Air Force later prevailed on the ‘warring’ parties and took the remains away to an unknown destination. At a joint press conference by the aviation agencies, the AIB boss, Muktar, said emergency response centre had been set up for Nigerians to seek enquiries. He disclosed that the General Manager, Consumer Protection Directorate, NCAA, Mrs. Ify Megwa, could be reached on 0803403442, 01-7936118 and 01-76072815. He stated that the cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder had been found. Either of these items is commonly referred to as a “black box.” While they do nothing to help the plane when it is airborne, they are important. Should the plane crash, they help crash investigators find out what happened just before the crash. The main purpose of the cockpit voice recorder is to record what the crew say and monitor any sound that occurs within the cockpit. Investigators might be interested in what went on just before an explosion or any other malfunction. Trained investigators are quick to identify sounds such as engine noise, stall warnings or emergency pings and pops. The cockpit voice recorder is also extremely important for determining the timing of events as it contains information such as communication between the crew and ground control and other aircraft. A top official of NAMA, Paul Onyigiri, told reporters at the NCAA office yesterday that initial conflicting figures of casualties and survivors were as a result of not knowing exactly the real number of occupants on the light aircraft. Asked if the airline did not file a flight plan before take-off, a mandatory requirement for his agency to know the exact number of occupants, he shocked all when he said airlines, particularly unscheduled (charter) airlines immediately they file their plans, turn around to carry more people not part of the original manifest submitted. But the crash notwithstanding, the family of the late Agagu has decided to go ahead with the burial plans. It was learnt from family sources yesterday that a delegation had been dispatched from Agagu’s hometown of Iju-Odo to Lagos to retrieve the body for the wake which was scheduled to hold yesterday evening prior to the funeral service preceding the interment. The Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Ebenezer Alabi, confirmed that the burial plan would go ahead and that the leadership of the party was about leaving Akure for Agagu’s home-town. According to him, “since we have confirmed that Feyi, son of Dr. Agagu who was on the plane survived alongside the in-law, we decided to go ahead with the ceremonies.”
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 05:54:17 +0000
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