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| Date: | Tuesday 30 June 1998 |
| Time: | 15:12 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 212 |
| Owner/operator: | Bristow Helicopters Nigeria (BHN) |
| Registration: | 5N-AJL |
| MSN: | 30878 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1978 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 9 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Onne Port, 30 mi from Port Harcourt -
 Nigeria
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | |
| Aker Base, Port Harcourt | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Inbound to Aker base, crashed at the mouth of river Niger after a mechanical failure.
The cause was the failure of the rotating swashplate drive link bolt. Probably caused by it being damaged when removed with a hammer during a recent inspection (by a British LAE), then refitted. The aircraft partially broke up during the fall from around 1500 ft, and sank in the river. The co-pilot (experienced TRE on a visit from the UK) was able to escape after it came to rest on the river bed. The American captain was probably incapacitated before they hit the water - he was observed bouncing violently during the descent with a loose lap strap - and did not escape.
Sources:
https://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001211X10286&key=1
WAAS
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 06-Nov-2013 09:00 | TB | Updated [Operator, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Nov-2013 09:15 | TB | Updated [Location, Nature, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Nov-2013 17:29 | TB | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 06-Jun-2014 21:11 | TB | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 13-Mar-2016 10:50 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 24-Apr-2025 16:18 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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