The Federal Government, through the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has enlisted experts from the United States and France to aid in the investigation of a recent helicopter crash in Rivers State. The accident involved a helicopter operated by East Wind Aviation, chartered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, which crashed on October 24 while en route from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt to an NNPC offshore facility.
The helicopter, carrying six passengers and two crew members, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar. Since the incident, five bodies have been recovered, with the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) announcing the retrieval of the helicopter’s black box on November 8.
At a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Keyamo detailed the international collaboration, stating that experts from both the U.S. and France would work closely with Nigeria in examining the wreckage. “The NTSB is an accredited representative of the NTSB in America, assisted by a technical advisor nominated by Sikorsky Aircraft,” he noted, adding, “France, as the state of design and manufacturer of the engines, has appointed an accredited representative, assisted by a technical advisor from Safran, the engine manufacturer.”
Keyamo explained that the helicopter wreckage left the collection site on November 9, arriving at the airport on Sunday, November 10. “After completing the formalities at the port, the wreckage was loaded onto a low-bed truck on Monday, November 11, and is now on its way to Abuja. Principally, the NSIB must take possession of that wreckage,” he said.
The NSIB plans to examine the helicopter’s maintenance and certification records, along with the training and medical histories of the crew members. Keyamo assured that a preliminary report would be available on the NSIB website within 30 days, with a comprehensive report—including safety recommendations—expected within a year.
He commended the collaboration among aviation agencies involved in the investigation. “All the agencies of aviation—NCAA, NAMA, and NIMET—are cooperating with the NSIB. We are running all of them together as one because they are all aviation agencies administering to cooperate on this issue,” he said.
“Our objective is to conduct a thorough investigation using available techniques to find a safety issue or recommend a safety change to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again,” Keyamo emphasized, noting that the investigation would examine potential contributing factors related to “the roles of man, machine, and the environment.”
