The Accident Investigation Board (AIB) that was constituted to ascertain the cause of the ill-fated Augusta Helicopter Crash that occurred December 15, 2012, killing six people on board including the former Governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Andrew Azazi, has submitted an interim report to the Nigerian Navy.
A statement issued by the Naval Director of Information, Commodore Kabiru Aliyu, said that the real cause of the crash could not be determined, but it might have been caused by either human error, material failure or a combination of both
Aliyu added that in order to be certain of the immediate and remote causes of the tragic air mishap, the aircraft’s engine would have to be subjected to a detailed forensic analysis.
The Naval headquarters had already mandated the manufacturers of the NN07 Agusta-Westland engine, Turbomeca, to carry out the forensic analysis phase of the investigation.
According to Aliyu “The investigation which was conducted by aviation experts in collaboration with the manufacturers of the aircraft – Agusta Westland – has stated that the cause of the crash could either be human error or material failure or a combination of both.
“However, to determine the actual cause of the crash there is the need to tear down the engine of the helicopter in order to carry out a detailed forensic analysis.
“This aspect of the investigation will be carried out by Turbomeca, the manufacturers of the engine.”
The naval spokesman debunked any perceived act of sabotage as being the cause of the crash, adding that an independent police report has ruled out the possibility.
“It is important to emphasize that an independent police report has equally ruled out sabotage as a possible cause of the crash. Further information on the investigation would be made public when available,” he said.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Joseph Ezeoba, had set up a board of enquiry to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the crash.