A day after the crash of a Bristow helicopter in Lagos, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operation of Bristow Helicopters Ltd’s Sikorsky S-76C++ model, till further notice.
The Director-General of the NCAA, Muhtar Usman, announced this while briefing journalists on Thursday in Lagos.
He said the suspension would enable the Authority to carry out a full scale audit on its operations, with particular emphasis on its Sikorsky S-76C++ type.
The S-76 C++ helicopter marked 5N-BQJ, enroute Lagos from an off shore location, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.
All 9 passengers and two crew members were rescued by a combined team of rescuers.
Usman said that the action being taken by the NCAA is “ without prejudice to the investigations being conducted by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB),” stressing that “as a matter of fact, it will serve to assist in the entire process. The authority will fully support AIB in the investigation.
He noted that another Bristow Helicopter-operated Sikorsky S-76 series crashed around the Oworonshoki axis in Lagos on August 12, 2015, pointing out that “ as a responsible regulatory authority, it is important to stem this rapidity of occurrence and ensure that the airline carries out safe operations.”
Usman explained that the suspension of operations prior to the impending wholesale audit was not a vote of no confidence on the airline but is meant to ascertain the propriety of the operating aircraft type, which is one of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) all over the world.
