ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900D 5N-JAH Bushi Village, Obanliku
ASN logo
 

Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Saturday 15 March 2008
Time:09:20
Type:Silhouette image of generic B190 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Beechcraft 1900D
Operator:Wings Aviation
Registration: 5N-JAH
MSN: UE-322
First flight: 1998
Total airframe hrs:5578
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67D
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Total:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:near Bushi Village, Obanliku (   Nigeria)
Crash site elevation: 975 m (3199 feet) amsl
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM), Nigeria
Destination airport:Bebi Airstrip (DNBB), Nigeria
Narrative:
The Beech 1900D airplane took off from Lagos at 07.36 en route to Obudu. It was expected to arrive at Bebi Airstrip at approximately 09:21. The aircraft contacted Enugu ATC at 08:56 while descending to FL110. The crew were cleared to descend further down to 5000 feet. It did not arrive at Bebi Airstrip and was declared missing.
On August 30, 2008, hunters found the wreckage in thick rain forest in Obanliku local government area.
Investigation revealed that the Enugu tower controller issued descent instructions to 5, 000 feet AMSL (FL50) outside its control airspace not considering that the aircraft was not flying the filed flight plan route and the minimum safe altitude (MSA) of the area reported by Jeppesen charts as 11,200 feet.

Probable Cause:

Causal Factor:
I. The flight crew conducted an approach into a VFR airfield in an instrument meteorological condition and did not maintain terrain clearance and minimum safe altitude which led to Controlled Flight Into Terrain.
II. The crew did not respond promptly to GPWS warning.

Contributory Factors
1. The flight crew was not familiar with the route in a situation of low clouds, poor visibility and mountainous terrain.
2. The Area Controllers did not detect the estimate as passed by the pilot for positions not in the filed flight plan (LIPAR and LUNDO) and omitting ENUGU.
3. The erroneous co-location of Bebi airstrip and Obudu on the NAMA Chart confused the crew.

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: AIB Nigeria
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 7 years and 2 months
Accident number: WINGS/2008/03/15/F
Download report: Final report

Classification:
VFR flight in IMC
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» SKYbrary 
» Obudu-bound plane missing (Daily Trust, 16-3-2008)
» Search for missing airplane moves to Cameroon, 4 days after (Daily Sun, 19-3-2008)
» How 'missing' plane was flown out of Nigeria - The Obasanjo connection (Nigerian Tribune, 28-4-2008)


Follow-up / safety actions

AIB Nigeria issued 5 Safety Recommendations

Show all...

Photos

photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
accident date: 15-03-2008
type: Beechcraft 1900D
registration: 5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
accident date: 15-03-2008
type: Beechcraft 1900D
registration: 5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
accident date: 15-03-2008
type: Beechcraft 1900D
registration: 5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
accident date: 15-03-2008
type: Beechcraft 1900D
registration: 5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-5N-JAH
5N-JAH
photo of Beechcraft-1900D-N23045
accident date: 15-03-2008
type: Beechcraft 1900D
registration: N23045
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport to Bebi Airstrip as the crow flies is 659 km (412 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
languages: languages

Share

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org