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Families have been wiped out
in an unimaginable fashion
and words fail humanity in
comforting those who have
lost beloved ones in the
Dana plane crash. We join
the nation in tears and pray
the Almighty God to receive
the souls of the departed
and comfort the bereaved
persons. Above all, we pray
that God should touch the
heart of President Goodluck
Jonathan and all patriotic
Nigerians to confront the
challenge which this crash
has thrown up and say "No,
never again".
This is not the first time
that Nigeria will be losing
hundreds of people in plane
crashes since independence
but this is one case that
has ridiculed the nation
most. In the last eight
months, I have been a
regular flier of Dana Air
planes in the major routes
of Lagos, Abuja and Port
Harcourt and it has dawned
on me that I could have been
the passenger in seat number
7D in that ill-fated flight.
We fell extremely sad that
such a monumental disaster
has terminated the seemingly
crash lull in the aviation
industry in Nigeria.
After the wreck, comes the
reckoning. The three days'
national mourning period is
over but as we clear the
rubble and bury the charred
bodies of the deceased, the
FGN must wake up to address
certain pertinent issues.
What happened to Dana Air
and her planes since the one
that crashed on Sunday is
different from the one that
Obong Godswill Akpabio,
Governor of Akwa Ibom Sate
had earlier complained
about. What is the factual
state of the aviation
industry in Nigeria? Is the
FGN and indeed the operators
doing all that they ought to
do to ensure high industry
standards and prevent
crash-free heaven? What
shall we do to fly safely
like other great nations of
the world? These are the
knotty issues that Nigeria
must untie if this litany of
deaths means anything.
President Jonathan has done
what many others before him
had done in the face of such
devastating national
calamity. He has shed
official tears and
empathized with the bereaved
families. In Abuja, he has
set up a committee to take a
critical look at the
aviation sector. He has gone
ahead to threaten that those
found culpable will face the
law. Well done Mr President.
We hope that you will have
the courage and strength to
look at persons in the face
and punish them because we
cannot ignore the
acknowledged scandalous
state of that Dana aircraft
and pretend that we do not
know by now what the Indians
are doing to our national
economy with the active
connivance of Nigerians, in
and out of government.
Mr President, in a short
time of fifty two years as a
nation, we have a gold medal
in aviation disaster,
totaling forty seven. This
is not a good record but a
good leadership can bring
about the relevant change.
We shall list the various
air crashes in Nigeria since
1969 as a reminder that our
aviation industry, like any
other section of our
national life, is in
tatters. We call on you, Dr
Goodluck Azikiwe Ebele
Jonathan, GCFR to take the
front seat that God
graciously gave you and make
air travels safe enough in
Nigeria. If you do not carry
this cross, God will demand
explanations from this crop
of leaders.
According The Guardian, the
following air crashes litter
our scandalous aviation
profile since 1969 and the
end is not yet in sight.
1. November 20, 1969:
Nigeria Airways BAC VC10
crashed on landing, killing
87 people on board.
2. January 22, 1973:
Royal Jordanian Airlines
flight 707 carrying 171
Nigerian Muslims returning
from Mecca and five crewmen
crashed in Kano, killing all
on board.
3. March 1, 1978:
Nigeria Airways
F28-1000crashed in Kano,
killing 16 people.
4. November 28,
1983: Nigeria Airways
F28-1000 crashed near Enugu,
killing 53 on board.
5. December 1988:
Skypower Brandeironte
aircraft overshot Ilorin
Airport's runway, killing
all the passengers.
6. February 24,1991:
British Helicopter crashed
in Eket, Akwa Ibom State,
killing all nine people on
board.
7. May 21, 1991: A
Cessna Citation 550 of
Ashaka Cement, Hombe,
crashed, killing all on
board.
8. June 26, 1991: An
Okada Air Bac-11 crashed in
Sokoto, killing three
persons.
9. September 26,
1992: Nigerian Air Force A
C-130 plane crashed minutes
after take-off from Lagos.
All 200 on board killed.
10. June 24, 1995:
Harka Air Services Tupolev
34 crashed on landing in
Lagos, killing 16.
11. November 13,
1995: Nigeria Airways Boeing
737-2F9 crashed on landing
in Kaduna, killing 9.
12. January 17, 1996:
Ibrahim Abacha, son of Sani
Abacha, was killed in a
plane crash. The group
“United Front for Nigeria's
Liberation” (UFNL) claimed
responsibility for the
crash.
13. November 7, 1996:
A Nigerian ADC (Aviation
Development Corporation)
Airline Boeing 727-231
flying from Port Harcourt to
Lagos with 142 passengers
and 9 crew members crashed
on landing, plunging into
the lagoon with all on board
killed.
14. January 31, 1997:
Sky Power Express Airways
Embraer 110PIA crashed on
landing in Yola, killing
five.
15. September 12,
1997: NAF Dornier 228-212 in
Nguru, Borno State ran into
a ditch during take off,
none of the 10 people died.
16. January 5, 2000:
SkyPower Express Airways
Bandeirante 110P1A crashes
on landing in Abuja, killing
17.
17. October 26, 2000:
Dornier aircraft plunged
into a thick bush near the
Niger Delta, 6 occupants
injured.
18. May 4, 2002: EAS
Airlines' BAC 1-11-500 with
105 people on board crashed
and burst into flames in a
densely populated suburb of
Kano, killing 76 on board
and 72 on the ground
bringing total casualties
to148.
19. November 30, 2003:
A Cargo aircraft of Hydro
Cargo, Brussels, Belgium,
crash-landed.
20. March 6, 2004: An
Aenail spray aircraft with
registration number 5NBEF
belonging to Berfieex
Nigeria Ltd, crashed at the
Bauchi Airport.
21. July 26, 2004:
Pan African Airlines'
helicopter crashed into the
Atlantic Ocean in Eacraros,
Delta State, killing four
persons on board.
21. December 29,
2004: A Boeing 727 of
Chanchangi Airlines
belly-landed at the MMA.
22. December 29, 2004:
A Kenya Airlines aircraft
crashed- landed at the MMA
due to gear fault.
23. January 28, 2005:
A Nigeria Air Force fighter
plane crashed into a
farmland in Yar Kanya, Kano
State.
24. February 25, 2005:
ADC's B73 aircraft had its
tyre burnt while landing at
Yola Airport.
25. March 27, 2005: A
Boeing 737 of Bellview had
one of its engines caught
fire.
26. June 11/12, 2005:
Lagos: a Boeing 727-200
aircraft belonging to the
domestic Chachangi Airlines
overshot the runway at
Murtala Muhammed Airport,
while yet another overshot
the runway at the airport in
Jos in central Nigeria a day
earlier.
27. June 24, 2005: A
Russian aircraft belonging
to Harka Air crash- landed
at the MMA, all the people
on board died
28. July 6, 2005, Port
Harcourt: An Air France A330
plane crashed into a herd of
cattle at Port Harcourt
airport, sustaining serious
damage and killing many of
the cows.
29. July 23, 2005: A
Lufthansa aircraft
crash-landed at Lagos
airport and was badly
damaged, but no life was
lost.
30. October 22, 2005:
A Bellview Airlines Boeing
737 with 117 people on board
crashed shortly after
take-off from Lagos. All on
board killed.
31. December 10,
2005: A Sosoliso Airlines
DC-9 crashes in Port
Harcourt, killing all 103 on
board including 60 students
of Loyola Jusuit College,
Abuja who were on holidays.
32. September 17,
2006: A 18-seater Dornier
228 Air Force transport
plane, carrying 15 senior
army officers and three crew
members crashed in Benue
State, leaving only three
survivors.
33. October 29, 2006:
Aviation Development
Corporation Airline Boeing
737 with 104 on board
crashed minutes after
take-off from Abuja's
airport. All but 6 perished
in the disaster.
34. November 10, 2006:
OAS Service Helicopter
crashed in Warri, Delta
state killing four on board.
35. August 2, 2007:
Bristow-owned helicopter
crashed inside ExxonMobil
facility in Port Harcourt.
36. March 15, 2008:
Beechcraft 1900D plane
marked 5N-JAH, belonging to
Wing Aviation crashed in
Cross River State. The
wreakage was not found until
6 months after. All four
crew members died.
37. March 14, 2002: A
helicopter belonging to the
Joint Task Force (JTF)
crashed in Kabong, Jos,
killing all members onboard
including four senior police
officers.
38. May 4, 2002:
Executive Airline Services
(EAS) BAC-1-11-525Ft
aircraft crashed at Aminu
Kano International Airport
Kano, killing 70 people.
39. December 10, 2005:
A Port Harcourt bound
Sosoliso Airlines flight
1145 crash-landed in Port
Harcourt Airport, killing
109 passengers including 60
students of Jesuit Loyola
College Abuja.
40. October 22, 2005:
A twin Engine Boeing 737,
belonging to Belview Airline
crashed in Lisa Village,
Ogun State and killed all
the 117 passengers on board.
41. October 29, 2006:
An ADC aircraft crashed when
it took off from Abuja,
killing 105 people on board.
42. November 10, 2006: A
six-seater helicopter
belonging to Odengene Air
Shuttle (OAS) crashed in
Delta State and killed two
people.
43. September 16 2006:
Air Force plane crashed in
Benue State killing Army
generals.
44. March 15, 2008: A
twin-turbo Prop 19-seater
aircraft belonging to Wings
Aviation Ltd crashed in
Calabar while on a routine
flight from MMA, Lagos.
45. March 8, 2011:
HS-125 chartered aircraft
crashed in Bauchi. No
casualty.
46. July 29, 2011: A
Kwara State-bound helicopter
crashed in Osun State
killing all on board.
47. June 3, 2012: A
Dana Air MD 83 carrying 153
persons from Abuja to Lagos
crashed at Iju a few minutes
to land in Lagos killing all
on board and ten others on
ground.###
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