Crash: Pilots recovered dead, black boxes missing


The two remaining persons on board the ill-fated Bristow helicopter that crashed into the Lagos lagoon on Wednesday have been recovered.
The victims – the pilots, Captain Joseph Wyatt and First Officer Peter Bello – who were fished out of the lagoon by emergency management agencies and local divers at about 10.30am, had, however, died.
The recovery brought the number of deceased persons to six.
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PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that the chopper had taken off from an oil rig station in the country for Lagos, but plunged into the lagoon in the Alonge, Oworonshoki area of the state five minutes before the arrival time.
It was also reported that of the 12 passengers, said to be oil workers on board the flight, 10 were recovered on Wednesday with four dead and six sustaining varying degrees of injuries.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Michael Akindele, said all the 12 persons that were on board had been accounted for.
He said, “The rescue mission as far as we are concerned has been concluded.”
The South West Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Bandele Onibode, said the Accident Investigation Bureau would handle the second phase of the recovery, which involved the wreckage of the helicopter
Black boxes missing –AIB
The Accident Investigation Bureau, the Federal Government agency investigating the fatal air crash involving a chopper belonging to Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Limited, on Thursday said the black boxes of the ill-fated aircraft had yet to be found over 24 hours after the accident.
The black boxes refer to the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder. The two key safety devices, usually installed in every aircraft, are meant to give indications of the causes of an air accident.
The AIB Commissioner/ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Felix Abali, said search and rescue efforts made so far by agency’s investigators had yet to produce the two crucial devices.
He, however, said some parts of the wreckage of the Sikorsy S-76C+ chopper found and flight recordings obtained from the Control Tower were already being examined by the agency.
Abali said, “Search and rescue operation had been concluded after which six of the 12 persons on board, including the two crew members, were fatally injured while the six survivors are receiving treatment at a hospital.
“The recovery of the aircraft wreckage, led by Julius Berger Construction Company, is underway. Investigation continues.”
The AIB commissioner also said the passengers manifest would be released in due course, noting that the airline would do so after contacting the air crash victims’ families.
On the information that that the plane was meant to carry only eight passengers instead of 12 that it carried, Abali merely said the plane had “12 souls on board.”
There had also been rumours that the aicraft had been phased out, but the airline could not be reached for immediate response.
Meanwhile, the management of Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Limited confirmed that its pilots were among the victims of the crash.
A statement by the Head, External Communications, Bristow Helicopters, Julie King, read in part, “The Bristow flight crew members that were among the fatalities, comprised Captain Joseph “Jay” Wyatt of Oklahoma, US, and First Officer Peter Bello of Nigeria.
“Captain Wyatt joined Bristow in 2006 and has spent his entire career flying with Bristow Helicopters out of Africa. First Officer Peter Bello joined Bristow in 2014 after graduating from Bristow Academy’s helicopter flight school.”
Local divers tackle rescue agencies
Some local divers, comprising fishermen and commercial boat operators on Thursday accused the emergency agencies of reneging on the promise made to them prior to the rescue of the victims.
They said contrary to a sum of N250,000 the agencies reportedly promised to pay 12 of them who went into the lagoon to recover the victims, they were eventually given N100,000 after the operation.
A fisherman, Tosin Atolagbe, said, “We first rescued six people alive. Later, we brought out four but they were dead. We resumed this morning (Thursday) again and recovered the two corpses left. With all the efforts we made, they gave us N100,000 instead of the N250,000 they promised.”
A boat operator, Adedayo Hassan, said, “We had to go down the water. They (victims) were at the front seat of the helicopter and we had to break the glasses of the helicopter, cut the belts they used before we were able to bring them out.”
Injured victims moved to St. Nicholas Hospital
Six injured victims of the Bristow helicopter crash have been moved to the St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos.
A source said the victims were currently being monitored to prevent any complication from their injuries.
The source said, “They brought them (victims) here this morning (Thursday) and they are doing fine. We will observe them for some days to ensure that they did not sustain any internal injury. ”
The hospital official, however, declined to disclose the identity of the victims.
Also, at the Folabi Medical Centre, where two of the injured victims were initially admitted, the Medical Director, Dr. Olajide Afolabi, said they had been discharged.
He said, “Folabi Medical Centre respected their desire to continue the treatment at another hospital. They were discharged at about 11pm Wednesday.”
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