The Dana Air Flight 0092 which crashed into a residential area in Iju Ishaga area of Lagos state on the 3rd of June, had an engine failure two years before the crash.
That’s according to the Head of Corporate Communications of Dana Airline, Tony Usidamen who testified before the Coroner of Alimosho District of Lagos state, Oyetade Komolafe.
The Dana Air MC Donnell Douglas (MD 83) Plane, crashed into a residential building in the populous area killing all 153 passengers on board and nine others on ground.
The Coroner is conducting an inquest into the cause of the crash.
According to Mr Usidamen, the engine failure which occurred in 2010 was as a result of a bird’s strike.
He stated that when the company discovered that the engine was bad, the plane returned to safety to change the engine to ensure a secured flight.
Answering questions from the Coroner on how many times the airline had this issue with the plane, the Dana Air official said he was not in a position to say and could not ascertain if the plane was safe to embark on the journey of the 3rd of June.
The witness also denied knowledge of the name of the engineer who certified the air worthiness of the plane just as he also denied that the plane had a hydraulic lick before the crash.
With such response, the Coroner threatened to arrest him if he continued to evade questions and he was subsequently compelled to give the name of the flight engineer who certified the plane.
Magistrate Komolafe declared that the engineer would be invited to answer questions at the inquest especially as the witness testified that the plane was in good condition and had actually made two trips before it crashed on its third trip.
An official of Dana airlines a day after the crash confirmed to Channels Television that the ill-fated Dana Air flight 0992, was faulty and the owners of the airline threw caution to the wind and insisted that the plane must fly in a bid to maximise profit .
Another witness from the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Engineer Emmanuel Dialla told the Coroner that the cockpit voice recorder retained 31 minutes of the flight’s conversation adding that from the records, the flight crew became worried about the condition of the plane as early as 10 minutes into the flight.
The inquest continues on the 6th of August when the witness is expected to conclude his testimony.
The Minister of Aviation is also expected to appear at the inquest next week.
