Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145

Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 (SO1145/OSL1145) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between the Nigerian cities of Abuja (ABV) and Port Harcourt (PHC). At about 14:08 local time (13:08 UTC) on 10 December 2005, Flight 1145 from Abuja crash-landed at Port Harcourt International Airport. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 with 110 people on board, slammed into the ground and burst into flames. Immediately after the crash, seven survivors were recovered and taken to hospitals, but only two people survived.[2]

Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145
The aircraft involved in the accident taken in 1997 while still in operation with JAT Airways
Accident
Date10 December 2005 (2005-12-10)
SummaryMissed approach due to pilot error aggravated by Windshear.
SitePort Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
4°47′N 7°00′E
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-32[1]
Aircraft nameRose of Enugu
OperatorSosoliso Airlines
Registration5N-BFD
Flight originNnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria
DestinationPort Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Occupants110
Passengers103
Crew7
Fatalities108
Injuries2 (initially 7)
Survivors2 (initially 7)
A similar aircraft, a DC 9-30, from Sosoliso Airlines at Enugu Airport

It was the second air disaster to occur in Nigeria in less than three months, after Bellview Airlines Flight 210, which crashed on 22 October 2005 for reasons unknown, killing all 117 people on board.[3][4][5] It was the company's first and only fatal accident.

Aircraft

The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 was manufactured in 1973. It entered the Nigerian registration on 12 June 2003, was owned by JAT Airways, and operated by Sosoliso Airlines Ltd. The aircraft certificate was released on 17 March 2005 and would have been due to another check on 27 June 2006. The aircraft was described as airworthy at the time of the accident.[6]

Crash

The aircraft departed Abuja's Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 12:25 p.m UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The route had a scheduled time enroute of 2 hours and 40 minutes. About 90 miles from the airport, the aircraft contacted ATC (Air Traffic Control) for initial descent clearance and was cleared by ATC to FL160. The aircraft continued its descent until 13:00, when the crew asked ATC for the weather condition at the airport. ATC told the aircraft that there was no precipitation and that a scattered Cumulonimbus condition existed. Later on, the crew acknowledged the report.

The aircraft continued to follow its descent profile. ATC then contacted the aircraft and advised that precipitation was approaching the airport. The controller then cleared the aircraft to land at Runway 21, but warned the pilot that the runway could be slightly wet, indicating that hydroplaning was a possibility. The flight crew acknowledged this message. Unable to make out the unlit runway through the rain, the captain called for a go around (missed approach) at an altitude of about 200 ft (approximately 120 ft above the ground). This call was made about 100 ft below the decision altitude.

The DC-9 then slammed onto the grass strip between the runway and the taxiway. 60 meters from the first impact point, the empennage struck a concrete drainage culvert, the aircraft then disintegrated and burst into flames.[7] The cockpit and the forward fuselage broke off from its main body and slid along the taxiway, creating a 120 meter trail of wreckage.

Passengers and Crew

The captain was Benjamin Adekunle Adebayo,[6][8][9] a 48-year-old Nigerian with a total flying experience of 10,050 hours with 1,900 of them on the DC-9. He had his last simulator training at Pan Am International Flight Academy in Miami on 7 July 2005. The first officer was Gerad Yakubu Andan,[6][10][11] a 33-year-old Ghanaian with a total flying experience of 920 hours which 670 hours were on the type. He had his last simulator training in August 2005 with a result of 'satisfying'.[6]

Of the 103 passengers and 7 crew members there were only two survivors, although seven survivors were initially rescued.[12] Many passengers survived the initial impact but died in the resulting fire. Other passengers later died from their injuries. Port Harcourt Airport had one fire truck and no ambulances.[6][13] None of 7 crew members survived the crash.[6]

Among the passengers were about sixty secondary school students from Loyola Jesuit College in the Federal Capital Territory region of Nigeria.[6] At first Loyola Jesuit College students from Port Harcourt traveled between school and their homes via buses using the roads. Rising crime along roads during the 1990s made parents believe that road travel was too dangerous. In 2001, when Sosoliso Airlines began services between Port Harcourt and Abuja, parents placed their children on the flights.[14] Out of the 60 teenagers from Ignatius Loyola Jesuit College; a boarding school located in Abuja, 59 were killed,[15] with Kechi Okwuchi being the only survivor from her school. Kechi was treated at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa[16][17] and at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas, United States.[18] Kechi later went on to take part in the twelfth season of America's Got Talent in 2017 as a singer, and finished the competition as a finalist.[18]

Also on the flight were two volunteers for Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders en route to work in Port Harcourt, Hawah Kamara and Thomas Lamy,[19][20][21] as well as televangelist Bimbo Odukoya, pastor of the Fountain of Life Church, who succumbed to her injuries the day after the accident.[22][23][24][21] Pastor Odukoya's personal assistant, Bunmi Amusan (now Bunmi Adams) survived the plane crash and got married a year later.[25][26][27][28]

Investigation

Weather analysis

The Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau found out that the data from satellite imagery by Boeing Aircraft Company in USA suggested that at 13:00 UTC, a sea breeze front, possibly reinforced by an outflow, pushed inland in the vicinity of Port Harcourt. The leading edge of the boundary, in theory, could have included an abrupt increase in wind speed and significant horizontal and/or vertical windshear. Rain showers and thunderstorm also likely occurred as warm and moist air were lifted into the atmosphere.[6]

An illustration of windshear called headwinds. The aircraft onboard windshear warning systems was visible.

Data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency showed that there was a change in the wind speed and direction as the aircraft approached the airport. The weather was deteriorating fast, and visibility was limited. The change of wind speed and direction created a perfect environment for wind-shear occurring in the airport.[6]

Black Box analysis

As the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder were retrieved by investigators, it was revealed that both black boxes had been damaged. The FDR had slight damage, and was downloaded by investigators in a file format, however, the situation was different for the CVR. The CVR coaxial spools were under tension during its normal operating flight, when the tape was severed, the spool would have spun freely which resulted in the release of additional tape into the transport and crash areas. There were some problems with both black boxes, but the data was filtered several times until the audio became reasonably intelligible.[6]

From the FDR data, it was revealed that the flight was uneventful until its final approach. Thirty seconds before the crash, the aircraft descended for seven seconds and leveled off at an altitude of 204 ft, which was below the Decision Altitude of 307 ft, the airspeed then decreased to 145 knots. A few seconds later, there was an increase of speed to 151 knots, indicating that flight crew had initiated a go-around, however, the aircraft had descended well below 204 ft and headed to the left. The crew was unable to recover the plane, and the data ceased functioning when the aircraft speed was at 160 knots.[6]

From the CVR data, 16 seconds before the crash, the Captain called for a go-around, gear up and flaps, a warning horn then sounded followed by a 'too low gear' aural sound. Apparently, the pilots had difficulty in sighting the runway and should have carried a missed approach at the Decision Altitude of 307 ft instead of continuing descent below 204 ft. The flaps were retracted and the gear was extended, but the gear was locked. The 'too low gear' warning then appeared again, and a Ground Proximity Warning System followed.[6]

Eyewitness account

Investigators conducted an interview with an eyewitness of the crash. The eyewitness was a Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) security guard stationed about 1 km from the runway. He stated that the conditions at the airport were dark skies and light precipitation. He saw the aircraft coming and stated that the aircraft was not stable as it passed over him. He further stated that the approach lights were not on and everywhere was dark and raining. ( It was reported that the approach lights were off because of a lack of diesel fuel which fuel the diesel generators that help give power to the airport's approach lights. [29] ) Seconds later, he heard a loud bang, with fire and thick smoke.

Another eyewitness, a Sosoliso Airlines pilot departing to Enugu, also reported adverse weather condition in the airport. Firemen in the airport handling the crash also stated bad weather conditions were present, and they were forced to reposition their equipment due to high wind. This implies that the flight crew wasn't prepared to execute a missed approach at the Decision Altitude as the aircraft descended below the Decision Altitude. Apparently, the crew didn't follow the right procedure for a missed approach. Even if they conducted a successful recovery from adverse weather associated with windshear, the procedure adopted by the crew was improper.[6]

Conclusion

Nigeria Accident Investigation Bureau finally concluded that the probable cause of the crash was due to the crew's decision to continue the approach beyond the Decision Altitude without having the runway in sight. The adverse weather condition was listed as a contributing factor.[6]

Aftermath

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that each family of an air crash victim is entitled to only 3 million naira or US$18,157 from the airline. In January 2009 Harold Demuren, the director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said that the families of the air crash victims would be compensated and that Sosoliso had already paid $2.3 million into an escrow account to compensate the families.[30]

Pope Benedict XVI sent condolences to the families of victims and offered prayers for relief workers at the site of the accident.[15]

Legacy

Andy and Ify Ilabor, the parents of crash victims Chuka, Nkem, and Busonma "Buso" Ilabor, started a foundation called the Ilabor Angels to assist orphans and AIDS victims.[31]

Loyola Jesuit College dedicated a Memorial Hall to the deceased students.[32][31] A Concerned Students Club was also created after the crash to discuss and reflect on the issues within Nigeria, and the school founded the Jesuit Memorial College in 2013 and Loyola Academy in 2014 which focus on providing education to lower income families.[7]

See also

Notes
  1. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. "Nightmare in Nigeria: How Blunders and Neglect Stoked an African Air Tragedy". The Wall Street Journal. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2009. Alt URL – Available from ProQuest, document ID: 399047247
  3. Polgreen, Lydia (11 December 2005). "Nigeria Plane Crash Kills 103; Most Were Children". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  4. "Over 100 Dead in Nigeria Jet Crash". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  5. "I Was Barred From Public Statements After 2005 Sosoliso Air Crash". Akahi News. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. "Final report on the accident to Sosoliso Airlines DC 9-32 aircraft registered 5N – BFD at Port Harcourt International Airport on 10th December 2005" (PDF). Nigerian Federal Ministry of Aviation. 20 July 2006. FMA/AIPB/424. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2012.
  7. Benigno, Mike (December 2015). "60 Angels: Marking 10 Years Since Tragedy Struck the Loyola Jesuit College Community in Nigeria". www.jesuitseast.org. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  8. ‘Mummy, what’s our future without daddy?’ – OnlineNigeria.com
  9. therealchidike (15 June 2012). "2006 Sosoliso Crash: Pilot Couldn't See Runway Because Airport Didn't Have Diesel". Dike Chiedozié's Blog. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  10. "Ghanaian Pilot Dies in Nigerian Air Crash". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  11. "OAA 90 | RIP – Gerald Yakubu Andan: 1972–2005". Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  12. Reporters, Sahara (10 December 2015). "Nigeria Marks 10 Years Since Plane Crash Of Sosoliso Flight 1145". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. https://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/715.pdf
  14. "60 Angels: Marking 10 Years Since Tragedy Struck the Loyola Jesuit College Community in Nigeria". www.jesuitseast.org. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  15. Osodi, George (14 December 2005). "Families ID young victims of Nigerian crash". msnbc.com. AP. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  16. Lindeque, Brent (12 June 2017). "Plane crash survivor who was treated in Johannesburg gets a standing ovation on Americas Got Talent". Good Things Guy. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  17. "Home". Kechi Okwuchi. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  18. "Former patient, Kechi, featured on". www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  19. "Two MSF colleagues killed in airline crash in Nigeria". Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  20. "Answers sought after Nigeria crash". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  21. "Investigation begins into Nigerian plane crash". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  22. https://allafrica.com/stories/200512130072.html
  23. @orisuntv. "BIMBO ODUKOYA & OTHER PLANE CRASH VICTIMS SACRIFICED – FFK". Orisun TV. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  24. "Pastor Bimbo Odukoya (1960 - 2005)". pastor-bimbo-odukoya.memory-of.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  25. "Plane crash survivor's TEDx Talk is inspiring". www.pulse.ng. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  26. enquirer (11 December 2018). "Kechi Okwuchi honours victims of Sosoliso plane crash". African Probe. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  27. Sosoliso crash: Survivor weds – OnlineNigeria.com
  28. ""We need safer skies" Sosoliso survivor, Kechi Okwuchi pleads in emotional video". Vanguard News. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  29. therealchidike (15 June 2012). "2006 Sosoliso Crash: Pilot Couldn't See Runway Because Airport Didn't Have Diesel". Dike Chiedozié's Blog. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  30. Ehigiator, Kenneth. "Nigeria: ADC Airline Owners Face Arrest." Lagos:AllAfrica.com. 1 January 2009. Retrieved on 10 September 2010.
  31. Africa's Airline Casualties on YouTube – The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 17 November 2007.
  32. Loyola Jesuit College Abuja | Gbenga's Notebook

References
External image
Picture of the aircraft while still flying for Serbian Airline JAT – Registration YU-AJH


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