Another misfortune yesterday hit the Nigerian Aviation Industry when a 1900D Beec-hcraft turbo prop aircraft belonging to Wings Avia-tion was reported missing over 10 hours after it was expected to have landed at its destination.
A pilot, standardisation officer and a cabin crew member who were on board the plane that took off from Lagos to Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State were feared dead.
The aircraft with registration number 5N JAH was said to be on a routine flight to pick up the Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke who was billed to attend a function outside the state.
The governor and members of the state executive council as well as top politicians in the state have been on a retreat at the Ranch since the end of the Peoples Democratic Party national convention which held in Abuja penultimate Saturday.
Managing Director of Wings Aviation, Capt Nogie Meggison, told newsmen yesterday that the aircraft, which departed Murtala Moha-mmed Airport; Lagos at 7.35 am with three crew members, was expected to arrive Bebi Airstrip at Obudu at �approximately 8.45 am.�
The report of the missing plane was confirmed by the Director-General, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Dem-uren, who said that efforts were being made to find the aircraft.
In a statement released to newsmen, Meggison stated that: �At about 10 am on Sturday, March 15, 2008, our Beechcraft 1900D twin turbo prop aircraft with registration no 5N JAH on a routine flight from Lagos to Obudu Cattle Ranch, Cross River State, lost contact with Port Harcourt Airport.
�The aircraft, which departed Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at 7.35 am with three crewmembers, was expected to arrive Bebi Airstrip at approximately 8.45 am.
�We immediately alerted the relevant aviation agencies including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigeria Airspace Agency.
�One helicopter operated by the National Emergency Management Agency and two others belonging to oil and gas companies in the search are participating in the search.
�An additional helicopter will join the search which will continue throughtout the night and will remain hopeful that the aircraft and crew will be found.
�Wings aviation in its eight years of operation has never recorded a single incident and our pilot and other crewmembers are recruited from among the best in the industry.
�Other statements will be issued when we have any additional information.�
Report from Enugu indicated that the aircraft hovered around Enugu before it disappeared but this was yet to be confirmed by Air Traffic Controllers at the Enugu airport. Another report indicated that the plane went out of the radar around Enugu.
But the National Emergency Management Agency yesterday said the whereabouts of the missing aircraft was yet to be established.
The Director-General of the agency, Air Vice Marshal Muhammed Audu-Bida (Rtd) who addressed aviation correspondents late evening yesterday, on progress made at tracking down the ill-fated aircraft said a search team despatched by the organisation earlier in the day to the Obudu area and its environs has rounded-off its operations for the day without any trace of the missing aircraft.
�The aircraft took-off from Lagos this morning enroute to obudu. The aircraft contacted Enugu control tower at 7,54 am and finally at 8.04 am where contact was lost. The aircraft has been confirmed to have 3 people on board�, he said.
According to him, NEMA got wind of the incident at about 11.30 am, after the aircraft failed to report landing at Obudu and immediately swung into action raising a helicopter search team to the Obudu area and also mobilised other agencies, like National Airspace Mana-gement Agency (NAMA) and the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to help in the search operations.
However, after a one and half hour search, the NEMA search party called-off its search for the day and returned to Markudi as their helicopter ran out of fuel.
Explaining that the efforts made by the agency to unravel the mystery behind the missing plane, Audu-Bida said NEMA contacted Spain Mission Control Centre (SPMCC) and US Mission Control Centre (USMCC) to get information on the aircraft beacon as it is not registered in Nigeria but that all the efforts proved abortive.
He said the missing plane could not be sighted by the Mission Control Centre, and that they suspected that it is either that the aircraft has no beacon or that the beacon is faulty and could not be activated.
The D-G said as part of desparate efforts to get at a lead on the location of the aircraft, the agency contacted other agencies, like the Airforce, Navy as well as other mission centres in South Africa, United States of America and Spain but all to no avail.
The search for the plane will resume this morning. Other helicopters within Port Harcourt area would be joining in the wider search�, he said.
While stating the plan of the agency to embark on more extensive search today, Audu-Bida appealed to members of the public to dial the following emergence numbers to alert the rescue team if they sight the aircraft, 08032003555 (NEMA), 08033002591 (DSAR), 09-4134341 (NIMCC) and 08034015177 (HMCC).
Also, Chief Press Secretary and Special Assistant, Media, to Governor Imoke, Mr. Patrick Ugbe confirmed the incident at about 5.00pm.
He said the state government has already dispatched a search party to locate the whereabouts of the aircraft.
According to him, �there is a search party that is in action. We hope to get a feedback from them soon.�
THISDAY gathered that the pilot of the plane was an experienced professional, a man of close to 60 yhears with over 30 years flying experience. He was generally regarded as meticulous and confident. Many who have flown in his plane said �you will always feel safe in flying with him�.
The route of the missing plane has a history of being a difficult terrain which is mainly mountaneous and fraught with sheer wind. The area stretched from Enugu to Benue and Cross River States.
The accident happened 18 months after a military aircraft conveying military officers to the Obudu Ranch resort for a retreat crashed in Kwande local Government Area in Benue State.
With the report of the missing aircraft, the celebration of an accident-free year 2007 by the aviation industry and the hope that the safety in the nation�s sky would continue this year seemed to have been cut short as the Nigeria aviation industry is trying to carve a new image for itself as a nation with save skies.
Prior to last year, the nation�s sky was dubbed unsafe following the accidents of Bellview airline near Abuja in October 2005 and the December 10 2005 crash of Sosoliso aircraft at the Port Harcourt airport. One year and one week after Sosoliso crash, ADC aircraft crashed on October 29, 2006, making 2007 the only asccident free year since 2004.
Mar162008