The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bristow

  • Black box of ill-fated Bristow chopper found

    Black box of ill-fated Bristow chopper found

    The Accident Investigation Bureau  has announced  that the flight recorder, popularly known as black box, of the Sikosky 76 helicopter that crashed into the lagoon in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos on Wednesday, 12 August has been recovered.

    The Sikosky 76 helicopter marked 5N-BGD and operated by Bristow Helicopters was believed to have departed SEDCO oil platform offshore and crashed shortly.

    The search party led by Julius Berger with the assistance of a hired diver located the recorder, which is expected to assist the investigators in unraveling the cause of the accident.

    The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) contains data generated from different parts of the aircraft, including the engines and the avionics while the Cockpit Voice Recorder will unveil conversations within the cockpit and between the pilots and the Control Tower.

    According to the AIB, investigation has extended to retrieving documents and other materials from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the airline operator.

    Other information will be released to the public as they unfold and according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annexe 13.

  • Photos: Julius Berger at work on crashed chopper site

    Photos: Julius Berger at work on crashed chopper site

    Julius Berger Company working at the site of Bristow helicopter crash at Oworo, Lagos.
    Julius Berger Company working at the site of Bristow helicopter crash at Oworo, Lagos.
  • Helicopter crash: AIB yet to recover flight data recorder

    Helicopter crash: AIB yet to recover flight data recorder

    The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) on Thursday said that it is yet to recover the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR), otherwise known as black boxes from the wreckage of the Bristow Helicopter that crashed into Lagos Lagoon on Wednesday.

    The chopper was returning from an offshore oil platform belonging to Sedco.

    The commissioner of the AIB, Dr Felix Abali who stated this on Thursday said the investigators of the accident have engaged construction giant: Julius Berger Nigeria Limited to assist with the recovery of the equipment- CVR and FDR, which are vital for investigation.

    He said though the AIB has a copy of the passenger manifest, but it must observe international protocols of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) before releasing the passenger manifest

    Abali said it would be wrong to release the passenger manifest without seeking the understanding of the families of the victims of the crash who are currently mourning their beloved ones.

    He said very soon the AIB will release a preliminary accident report subject to the pace of its investigations.

    He said the AIB has already collected the transcript of conversation between the pilots of the ill- fated chopper and the control tower of the Lagos Airport.

    He clarified that the chopper had 12 people on board that it was carrying the number of passengers prescribed by its manufacturers.

    He said the number of passengers that were on board will contribute significantly to the accident investigation.

    He said: “We have a copy of the manifest, but a lot of protocol is involved to release to the public. We have to inform the families involved in line with standard international procedures.

    “It would be nice to know the passenger capacity of the helicopter, but it does not contribute to the accident in any way. The investigation will reveal all that.

    “We have removed the main part of the chopper from the lagoon, but the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were not detached. We have to engage Julius Berger to continue to search for the black boxes.

    “AIB is considering all evidence, and we intend to synchronize all parameters. We have collected the tapes of the last conversation with air traffic controllers. The preliminary report of the accident will be released very soon. It is the responsibility of the airline to release the manifest of the passengers .”

  • Photo: Pilot and first officer of crashed helicopter

    Photo: Pilot and first officer of crashed helicopter

  • Lagos crash: American pilot’s sister mourns

    Lagos crash: American pilot’s sister mourns

    Samantha Wyatt,  a sister of the American pilot of the crashed Bristow helicopter, Capt. Joseph “Jay” Wyat, has mourned the death of her brother.

    When news of the crash first broke on Wednesday, Samantha took to Twitter to confirm if her brother survived the accident.

    “My brother, American Capt. Joseph Wyatt, MISSING after Lagos crash.

    “Can you confirm or provide a source? We know he isn’t in the hospital,” she said on her Twitter handle.

    When the death of her brother and five others was confirmed, she tweeted, “We are heartbroken. I have never known such grief.”

  • Photo: Aviation ministry visits helicopter crash site

    Photo: Aviation ministry visits helicopter crash site

  • Chopper’s crash: Bodies of Pilot, Co-Pilot recovered

    Chopper’s crash: Bodies of Pilot, Co-Pilot recovered

    The bodies of the remaining two persons missing from Wednesday’s Bristow helicopter crash in Lagos have been recovered by the search and rescue team, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    NAN reports that the bodies, recovered at about 10:25am on Thursday were that of a white man and a black.

    The bodies were brought to the shore  at 10:45am.

    Sources said the white man was the helicopter’s pilot, while the black man was the co-pilot.

    The bodies had been taken to the Mainland Hospital by Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit.

    NAN observed that while the search team was still looking for the two persons, some relations of the victims besieged the scene looking for their loved ones.

    The General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Michael Akindele, who briefed the media jointly with Dr Onimode Bamdele, South-West Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the rescue and search mission had been concluded.

    Akindele said that though the bodies had been recovered, they could not give names of the victims because they are yet to get the manifest.

    He commended the local divers, Marine Police, Lagos State Waterways Authority; the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and others for a job well done.

    Akindele said the second phase of the operation would be handled by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) of the Federal Ministry of Aviation.

    He said the agency would determine how the remains of the helicopter would be evacuated from the water.

    Mr Clement Onyeyiri, Senior Investigator, Air Safety of AIB, said that as at now, all they knew was that there was an accident and that its nature was yet unknown.

    Hajia Binta Bello, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation, who was also at the scene, said they were waiting for the AIB report.

    Speaking to NAN, one of the divers, Fridsy Ukpon, who claimed to be a fisherman, said it took them about four hours to find the bodies.

    Ukpon said they saw the helicopter crashed into the Lagoon while they were fishing in the area.

    “We entered the water at 7 a.m. and recovered the bodies at about 10.30 a.m,’’ he said.

    NAN reports that the corpses were taken out of Oworosoki Police Station at 11.45 a.m.

    The Lagos State Police Command’s spokesperson, DSP Patricia Amadin, had confirmed that after the crash, six persons were rescued alive on Wednesday and four dead.

    The police also confirmed that the ill-fated helicopter which plunged into the Lagos Lagoon at Oworonshoki, was carrying 12 passengers when the accident occurred at about 3.10 p.m.

  • Bristow Helicopter to spend N50 million on 20 cadet engineers

    As part of its contributions to the development of human resources  in the aviation sector, Bristow Helicopter said it will spend over N50 million for the training of 20 cadet engineers at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology ( NCAT), in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The 20 cadet engineers, according to the human resources manager of the helicopter company, Mr Femi Collins, will spend 90 weeks at the college .

    He said the training is part of the company’s initiative to empower Nigerians and strengthen capacity for the aviation sector .

    Speaking at the “Meet the Parents” ceremony held at the company’s head office in Lagos, Collins congratulated the eventual 20 cadets that emerged  from the over 4000 applications received from all over Nigeria.

    He stated that the selection process was thorough and strictly based on merit so both parents and prospective cadets should be very proud of their achievements.

    Collins noted that the cadets training was one of Bristows commitment to building capacity in both the aviation and offshore helicopter support industries as these cadets would go on to work on aircraft servicing these two important aspects of the Nigerian economy.

    Collins revealed that an average of N2.5 million will be spent on each cadet trainee for the duration of the 90 weeks training. This cost, he stated, will include the tuition fees, accommodation and feeding. Asides this, a monthly allowance will also be made available to each of the cadets throughout the period of the training.

    On his part, the Managing Director, Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Limited, Captain Akin Oni, enjoined the cadet engineers to exhibit good behaviour during the period of their training as character and good conduct constitutes one of the assessment elements. Oni noted that though these young Nigerians were being trained in Nigeria, they would later form part of a global pool of engineering talent that could be required and deployed anywhere in the world.

    Parents at the signing ceremony expressed their gratitude to Bristow Helicopters for the initiative. Enjoining their children and wards to do them proud, the parents who took turns to speak, noted that the gesture from Bristow was a rare opportunity and a privilege.

  • Bristow kits 400 pupils

    Bristow kits 400 pupils

    Helicopter Service providers, Bristow Helicopters, left pupils of four primary schools in Akwa Ibom State smiling with its school kits presented to them.

    The firm, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative tagged “Bristow Uplift”, presented the school kits comprising of bags, uniforms, shoes, sportswear and sweaters to about 400 pupils drawn from four community schools in Eket, EsitEket, Ibeno and Onna.

    Bristow Uplift volunteers visited the four schools over a period of two days in the communities and presenting the kits to each pupil.

    Appreciation of the gifts, Head Teacher, QIC Primary School, Ikot Akpatek, Onna Local Government Area, Elder Francis Marcus said the Bristow Uplift programme is a kind gesture which has brought smiles to the children and their parents.

    He said, “This act of kindness is one that these children will never forget. For some of them, this is the first time they will wear school uniform or even carry a bag to school. We pray that God continues to bless the management and staff of Bristow”.

    Describing the initiative as the “Bristow Way of creating positive change in our communities”, the Managing Director, Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Ltd, Captain Akin Oni noted that it demonstrates the organisation’s support for the children.

    “Improving education is one of the biggest challenges facing Nigeria, and we wanted to provide support for primary school children because that is the critical time to make sure these kids have what they need to succeed,” he said.