A lot of
tragedies have been tailing this month since the second day. A pack of trailers
caught fire on Saturday along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Following that was
the news of a Nigerian-owned aircraft that crashed into a bus killing ten
people. Less than 24 hours after that came that of the Dana Air crash. Earlier
in the day, there was a blast in Bauchi State. Looking at all these, one
wonders, “Where’s Nigeria heading to?”
The
first major fault with the airline is that the plane was alleged to be over 22
years. Meanwhile, a former Aviation Minister, Kema Chikwe, already directed
that any plane aged 22 years must not fly. This directive was made after a
plane crashed in Kano killing 76 people on board and 72 on the ground in 2002. Another
fault was that the plane was faulty and under repair. They were having a flight
test for the plane. It was coming from a state in the South-Eastern part of the
country without any passenger. It was later diverted to Abuja to fly the
Lagos-bound passengers. A few weeks earlier, another airplane belonging to this
same Dana air and coming from Uyo, suffered hydraulic pressure and had to make
an emergency landing at the Muritala Muhammed Airport.
Taking
a look at these makes one wonder if these guys are doing it on purpose. On all
grounds, it’s really unfair. When you know a plane is faulty and under repair,
why do you have to make it fly passengers? And now, the government are saying
they want to investigate the crash. What sort of investigation is that? Is it
the fact that a plane that was under repair and was used to fly passengers or
that a plane of 22 years was going into the airspace? The management of the
aircraft need to be brought to book and their license to operate should be
forever revoked. It would serve as lesson to other airline operators.
A
reporter rightly noted that majority of the plane crashes we’ve had over the
years happened on a weekend and majority are from Abuja. Is it that the Abuja
airport is not capable of screening airplanes before every flight or there are
no checks conducted on planes flying during weekends? We need to give a thought
to it.
The
control tower at the Muritala Muhammed Airport said they received an emergency
call from the pilot just about two-three minutes before it was expected to
touchdown at the Muritala Muhammed Airport. The last words the pilot was
reported to have said were, “May Day!
May Day!” Shortly after that, the
plane was reported to have disappeared off the radar and the next news they
heard was that it had crashed.
An
eye-witness who saw the whole thing said that he was on the balcony of his
house when he saw the plane coming down. He said he was sure the pilot was
trying his best to save the plane and was trying to land on the main street but
was not able to because he was trying to avoid the high-tension wires after
which one of the wings crashed into a mango tree killing a cow. He said when he
finally saw the plane coming down, he had to lie flat on his balcony because he
thought it was coming down on him and that his house as saved by a hair’s
breath.
At
the end of it all, we can only say whatever we want to say about the crash. The
deed has been done. We can only try to forestall future air mishaps. Airline
operators should always be at alert. Whenever a plane is faulty or under
repair, it should not be used to fly any passenger until it has been certified
as okay. Checks should also be carried out on all airplanes before flight
regardless of whether it’s a weekend or not. People travel a lot on Saturdays
and Sundays. There should also be routine checks all planes. Flying a plane
above 20 years is also dangerous. In my opinion, the 22-year life span given to
them is somehow too much. We need to protect lives. We are not meant to waste
life anyhow.
Our
leaders (if we actually have any leader in this country) should also realize
that leadership is a trust placed on them from God and they will account for
every single spoul they led.
GOD
BLESS NIGERIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
