After a crash, the stories always come out that put faces on the “seats.” The one that has, so far, struck me the most in the Dana Air crash is a tale of mixed blessings.
First Omonigho Akinsanya had come to visit, and now she was waiting in the crowded, overheated Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to catch a plane to take her home. She, with her 5-year-old son Moyo, and her sister had been waiting in line, trying to travel back home.
The airport, which is undergoing renovations is reportedly hot and crowded, and Omonigho Akinsanya had her son to manage. She was understandably upset when a man broke in line and took the last seat in the crowded airplane that her sister had already boarded.
His breaking in line saved her life. But she cannot rejoice in the luck, fortune, Karma, coincidence that left her alive. Her sister was one of the victims.
This is her sister’s sad story, and her own too, because it is a terrible loss and a close call. But it is only one of 153+ losses (not forgetting the families on the ground who were minding their own business in their own apartments when a plane fell on their heads.)
It is hard to sift rumor from fact. One rumor is that the flight had been diverted or delayed due to Dame Patience Jonathan, the first lady, but that rumor has been discounted; she was at an event on Sunday when the crash occurred, and nowhere near the airport. There was a rumor of a bird strike, stemming from an official speculating on the cause. And then of course, everyone is studying the plane’s history, and wondering if it was airworthy.
The MD-83 belonged to Alaska Airlines from 1990 when it was new until 2007, when the plane’s title went to North Shore Aircraft LLC (probably the financier) and leased back for a year. Before it was retired in 2008, it had gone through a diversion on Nov 4 2002 due to an overheated light ballast; on August 20, 2006 due to a “chafed wire bundle.” And as Dana Air 5N-RAM it suffered a bird strike on April 19, 2010.
The pilot, Peter Waxtan, was an American, and the first officer was Mike Mahendra, from India. Captain Waxton called a double engine failure. The pilot had requested to land on Murtala Muhammad Airport’s longer runway 18R before calling air controllers back a few minutes later to report a total emergency.
There has been some negative buzz regarding maintenance of this MD83 in the hands of Dana Air, and a recent discussion of Dana Air crew being reluctant to fly in this plane, due to mechanical difficulties on a recent flight, even that Dana Air execs insisted the plane be flown. Plus, it was overloaded.
It is still so soon after the crash that we hardly know which questions to ask first. There are so many questions. But if Dana Air was putting faulty aircraft in the air, they will have to answer for it. Too bad it will be too late for those who were aboard.
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The supersonic bomber is designed to take out sea- and ground-based targets using guided missiles and aerial bombs.
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Niko, 47, who lives in Bali, was left with a broken leg at the start of his journey to New Zealand after the plane was hit with ‘clear air turbulence’ while he was heading back to his seat
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By KAREN VELIE A small plane crashed off the runway at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport on Friday, injuring three people. Shortly before noon,
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Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services responded to reports of an aircraft off the runway at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.
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Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. The pilot’s final nine words were revealed in the cockpit recording
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One person was sent to the hospital after the incident on Friday.
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The pilot’s identity will not be released at this time due to the investigation efforts being in the early stages, deputies said.
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ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — FAA continues its federal investigation into how two planes nearly collided on the runway at Reagan National Airport. A passenger on one of the flights is shari…
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One person has died following the crash of a small plane in Lake County.
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A Sacramento-bound Southwest Airlines flight was diverted back to the St. Louis airport on Friday. Passengers and Air Traffic Control audio said the plane landed safely after an issue with an engine.
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A Delta spokesperson emphasized the emergency was something flight crews are trained to respond to.
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The final words of the pilot manning Air France Flight 447 have been revealed.
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A simulation has revealed a pilot’s last words before flight AF447 crashed in 2009.
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Southwest plane nearly crossed runway in front of departing JetBlue plane Thursday in Virginia
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Russian military plane crashed in Stavropol region
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s air force claimed Friday it shot down a Russian strategic bomber, but Moscow officials said the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area due to a malfunction after a combat mission. Neither claim could be independently verified. Previous Ukrainian claims of shooting down Russian warplanes during their more than two-year […]
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The former president’s aircraft has been seen parked at LaGuardia Airport in New York as he takes part in his hush money trial in Manhattan.
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A military plane crashed in Russia’s Krasnogvardeysky district of the federal city of St. Petersburg. The pilots, according to sources, were ejected safely., Europe News – Times Now
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Two aircraft nearly crashed into each other earlier Thursday at Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
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Boeing, with its airplane-making reputation in tatters, has revealed plans to get into the flying car market in Asia.
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