The Accident
Investigation Bureau has submitted a preliminary report on the crash of Dana
Air’s MD83 (5N-RAM) in Lagos on June 3, 2012. The report determines the
main
facts about flight 992. Read it below..
The airplane was on the
fourth flight segment of the day, consisting of two round-trips between Lagos
and Abuja. The accident occurred during
the return leg of the second trip. DAN
992 was on final approach for runway 18R at LOS when the crew reported the
total loss of power.
According to
interviews, the flight arrived in ABV as Dana Air flight 993 about 1350. According to Dana Air ground personnel,
routine turn-around activities occurred, including refueling of the
airplane. DAN 992 initiated engine
startup at 1436, taxied to the runway and was later airborne at 1458 after the
flight had reported that it had a fuel endurance of 3.5 hours. Shortly after takeoff, DAN 992 reported 1545
as the estimated time of arrival at LOS as the flight climbed to a cruise
altitude of 26,000 ft[2]. DAN0992 made contact with Lagos Area Control Center
at 1518 hours.
The cockpit voice
recorder (CVR) retained about 31 minutes of the flight and starts about 1515 at
which time the captain and first officer were in a discussion of a non-normal
condition regarding the correlation between the engine throttle setting and an
engine power indication[3]. However,
they did not voice concerns then that the condition would affect the continuation
of the flight. The flight crew continued
to monitor the condition and became increasingly concerned as the flight
transition through the initial descent from cruise altitude at 1522 and the
subsequent approach phase.
DAN 992 reported
passing through 18,100 and 7,700 ft, respectively, at 1530 and 1540 hours.
After receiving a series of heading and altitude assignments from the
controller, DAN 992 was issued the final heading to intercept the final
approach course for runway 18R.
During the period of
1537 and 15:41 the flight crew engaged in pre-landing tasks including
deployment of the slats, and extension of the flaps and landing gear. At 15:41:16 the first officer (FO) inquired,
"both engines coming up?" and the captain (Capt) replied “negative.”
The flight crew subsequently discussed and agreed to declare an emergency. At 1542:10, DANA 992 radioed an emergency
distress call indicating "dual engine failure . . . negative response from
throttle."
At 1542:35, the flight
crew lowered the flaps further and continued with the approach and discussed
landing alternatively on runway 18L. At
1542:45, the Capt reported the runway in sight and instructed the FO to raise
the flaps up and 4 seconds later to raise the landing gear.
At 1543:27 hours, the
Capt informed the FO "we just lost everything, we lost an engine. I lost
both engines". During the next 25
seconds until the end of the CVR recording, the flight crew was attempting to
restart the engines.
The airplane crashed in
a residential area about 5.8 miles north of LOS. The airplane wreckage was on
approximately the extended centerline of runway 18R. During the impact sequence, the airplane
struck an incomplete building, two trees and three buildings. The wreckage was
confined, with the separated tail section and engines located at the beginning
of the debris field.
The airplane was mostly
consumed by post crash fire. The tail section, both engines and portions of
both wings, representing only about 15% of the airplane were recovered from the
accident site for further examination.
The captain, age 55,
held an airline transport pilot license with type ratings in the A-320[4],
DC-9, FK-28[5], and SF-340[6]. He had
over 18,116 hours of total time, including 16,416 hours of pilot-in-command
time (PIC). The captain had 7,461 hours
in the accident model airplane all of which was as PIC. He was employed with Dana Air on 14 March
2012. He began flying line operations for the company in late May 2012 and had
since accrued over 120 hours of flight time. The captain had acquired about 3,
78, and 116 flight hours, respectively, in the preceding 24 hours, 30 and 90
days.
The first officer, age
34, held a commercial pilot license he was type rated in MD-83. He had 1,143 hours of total time, including
about 200 hours as pilot-in-command. The
first officer had 808 hours in the accident model airplane all of which was
second-in-command. He had been
previously employed with Dana Air as the Director of Cabin Service before he
was hired as a pilot about January 2011.
The first officer had accrued about 3, 42, and 154 flight hours,
respectively, during the preceding 24 hours, 30 and 90 days.
The airplane was
manufactured in 1990 and according to maintenance records it had accumulated
60,846 hours (35,219 cycles) of total
time. The left and right engines respectively
had 54,322 (30,933 cycles) and 26,025 (12,466 cycles) hours of total time since
new. A review of the aircraft technical
logs did not reveal of the previous 30 days did not indicate a condition. The airplane had last undergone maintenance
on 1st June 2012, and after a return to service flight on 2nd June 2012, it was
operated on four revenue flights (two round trips between LOS and ABV) and
another four flights on 3rd June 2012.
Fueling records
indicated the airplane was uplifted with 8000 lbs of fuel before departure from
ABV. The flight crew reported to ATC they had 26,000 lbs of total fuel. Preliminary analysis of fuel samples from the
refueling truck and the supply tank at ABV were negative for contamination.
The investigative
activities have included, in part, visual examination of the aircraft wreckage,
review of maintenance records and other historical information of the aircraft,
documentation of the training and experience of the flight crew, determination
the chronology of the flight, review of recorded data, reconstructing the
aircraft refueling, and collection of related fuel samples, and interviews of
relevant personnel.
Future investigative
activities will include, but is not limited to, the detailed examination of the
engines, further testing of fuel samples, continued factual gathering of
relevant historical, operational, maintenance and performance information of
the accident airplane in addition to other similar airplane models, further
development of the background of the flightcrew, further analysis of the CVR
audio recording and review of pertinent issues associated with regulatory
oversight.
As the State of
Occurrence, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has instituted an
investigation in accordance with the standards and recommendations specified in
the provisions of Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation
Organization. As the State of
manufacture of the airplane and engine, a US Accredited Representative has been
appointed and assisted by US technical advisors from the NTSB, US Federal
Aviation Administration, Boeing Airplane Company, and Pratt & Whitney
Engines.
In accordance with
Annex 13, "the sole objective of the investigation of an accident or
incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents. It is not for the purpose of this activity to
apportion blame or liability."
The content of this
report is based on preliminary information. The Bureau will continue to conduct
the investigation in a meticulous and methodical manner and release facts as
they become validated.
SIGNED
[1] All times are based
on local time based on the 24-hour clock
[2] All altitudes are
based on mean sea level.
[3] Flight crew made
reference to the engine pressure ratio gage.
[4] Airbus A-320
[5] Fokker F-28
[6] Saab SF-340, a
twin-engine turboprop airlaine
main facts about flight 992. Read it below..
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