The Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, has concluded plans to send the engines of the crashed private jet of the late former Governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Suntai to its manufacturer in North America for thorough investigation.
The Commissioner, AIB, Akin Olateru who disclosed this in Lagos, said the delay in the analysis of the engines after almost 5 years of the crash was due to paucity of funds in the shipment of the aircraft abroad.
The AIB boss emphasized that the analysis of the engine was necessary in order to ascertain the true state of the aircraft’s engine before the plane crashed in Yola on October 25, 2012.
He said: “We are about to take the aircraft engine that involved the former and late Governor of Taraba State, Mr. Dambaba Suntai in 2012 abroad. We are planning to send the aircraft engine back to the manufacturer for what we call engine tear down.
“It is one of the processes of accident investigation. Just to ship an engine abroad is a challenge. All these, we have to back it. Investigation is still on because there is no money to ensure we check the engine that it was in right situation before the crash.”
Mr. Olateru noted that the shipment of the engine for thorough investigation was one of the processes of accident investigation, which the agency would carry out to unravel the true cause of that accident.
The late Danbaba Suntai and five of his aides were, on October 25, 2012, involved in an air crash after their private plane, Cessna 208 aircraft marked 5N-BMJ, crashed in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
Late Suntai holds. Private Pilot License (PPL) from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), certified for visual flight, which is from 6am to 6pm.
The late governor was said to be piloting the small aircraft at the time of the incident, the plane was said to allegedly hit the ground behind the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depot, along Yola-Numan Road at about 7 pm.
