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| Date: | Friday 28 August 2020 |
| Time: | c. 12:14 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III |
| Owner/operator: | Quorum Aviation |
| Registration: | 5N-BQW |
| MSN: | 3216 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Opebi, Lagos -
 Nigeria
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Port Harcourt Airport (PHC/DNPO) |
| Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS/DNMM) | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB Nigeria |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Bell 206B-3 JetRanger III crashed in a residential area n Opebi, Lagos, Nigeria. The helicopter was destroyed and all three people on board were fatally injured.
The helicopter was operating on a VFR flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos with three persons on board, including one pilot, an engineer, and a fitter mechanic. According to the flight plan, the endurance was 3 hours 15 minutes and the flight time was estimated to be 2 hours 45 minutes.
The pilot started the engine at 09:15 and the helicopter was airborne at 09:20.
At 12:10:59, 5N-BQW contacted Lagos Tower and reported field in sight. The flight was instructed by the controller to report left downwind runway 18L. This was the last contact with the flight.
The helicopter crashed about 4 km east of Lagos Airport.
The investigation showed that the pilot combined the management positions of the Director of Flight Operations (DFO), the Chief Pilot (CP) and the Pilot-in-Command (PIC) as approved by NCAA. He was the
only pilot in the employment of Quorum Aviation Limited. Therefore, the pilot was responsible for performing his flight duties as well as supervision of the flight operations department of the company.
It appeared that the pilot’s medical certificate had expired 22 days before the accident, his proficiency check had expired 4 days before the accident and he was lacking recent experience (less than 3 take-offs and 3 landings in 90 days).
In addition, NCAA had required all AOC holders to apply and obtain an approval from NCAA to resume operation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Quorum had submitted its Restart Plan to NCAA, the plan was found unsatisfactory and therefore NCAA did not issue approval to resume operations. Quorum conducted the flight without obtaining approval from NCAA.
Causal factor:
Fuel exhaustion at low altitude and low speed leading to loss of control in flight.
Contributory factors:
1. The decision to continue the flight towards the intended destination with insufficient fuel instead of landing as soon as practicable in line with section 12.12 of Quorum Aviation Limited Operations Manual Part A.
2. Lack of effective management supervision of the airline’s flight operations.
3. Inadequate safety oversight of Quorum Aviation Limited
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://punchng.com/aib-confirms-copter-crash-at-opebi-begins-probe
https://mynewsbite.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/breaking-two-killed-as-helicopter-crashes-into-building-in-lagos/
https://nairametrics.com/2020/08/28/breaking-helicopter-crashes-into-building-in-lagos/
https://nigerianflightdeck.com/helicopter-crashes-into-building-in-lagos-two-feared/
https://aib.gov.ng/press-release-on-helicopter-bell-206-b3-marks-5n-bqw-operated-by-quorum-aviation/
http://quorumaviation.com/about-us
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Aug-2020 14:07 | gerard57 | Added |
| 28-Aug-2020 14:16 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 14:54 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 15:10 | harro | Updated [Registration, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 15:11 | harro | Updated [Departure airport, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 16:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 18:24 | Aerossurance | Updated [Phase, Nature, Source, ] |
| 28-Aug-2020 23:34 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Aug-2020 09:44 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 02-Mar-2021 18:06 | rudy | Updated |
| 26-Feb-2022 09:07 | harro | Updated [Time, Cn, Phase, Nature, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 26-Feb-2022 09:20 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Narrative, ] |
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