AIR CRAFTS OR AIR CASKETS ?

You call them air planes, I call them air caskets.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s just that the thought of boarding an air craft in this country does not only make my heart to stop beating, but it definitely keeps me awake all through the night before my flight. I now understand why our leaders spend so much on private jets. 

I am sure you are wondering where I am headed with this. Sincerely, I had forgotten about the last air crash and the very recent drama of how passengers almost suffocated and rioted because the air conditioning system of Arik Air Lagos to New York flight of March 31^st remained off for over an hour after passengers had boarded the air craft and the cabin doors were closed prior to take off. In fact, I had succeeded in ignoring that news until recently. Four days ago I read about another aviation drama and suddenly, all my doubts about this sector resurfaced.

The news was that the windshield of an aircraft belonging to Overland Airways with 57 passengers on board got broken midair! That news got me so confused and even though some people called it a minor fault while others insisted that the flight was in good condition before its windshield broke, I just could not help but ask myself; Was that aircraft actually in a good condition?  Must everybody go into this aviation business?  When will our air crafts cease to be death traps and air caskets? I just taya for Naija!

Anyway, as we continue to risk our lives in our air caskets, sorry air crafts, may we not lose hope that someday our country will rise above the negligence and corruption in our aviation sector and the country as a whole.

Read the full after the cut...
According to Punch News The plane which left Ibadan around 8am, had on board a former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Lanre Ogundipe, an officer in the Accountant-General of the Federation’s office, Mr. Demola Akinlabi, and 55 others. Ogundipe, who spoke on the incident, said the aircraft was in good condition before the windshield broke, adding that a major tragedy was miraculously averted.

“We started well but midway around Minna in Niger State, the pilot made a detour to Lagos, which was strange. We later got to know that the windshield broke and the flight could not continue for long,” he said.

Ogundipe added that the passengers had to be evacuated and put in another aircraft, which arrived Abuja in the afternoon.

However, the Managing Director, Overland Airways, Capt. Edward Boyo, told our correspondent that what happened was not a major incident but a logical discretion by the pilot to rectify a faulty pane.

He said, “It is not true that our aircraft made an emergency landing in Lagos because of the broken windshield. It was not true also that it made a detour in Minna. The information was wrong. The plane left our hangar in Lagos for Ibadan today and was on its way to Abuja when the pilot discovered that the outer pane had cracked.

“He could have continued if it would be possible to change the pane in Abuja or Ibadan, but in his technical wisdom, he returned to Lagos where it could only be fixed. It was not technically a major incident. It would be a major incident if the inner pane had cracked.”

The Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria, Capt. Nogie Meggison, also said that a broken outer pane of an aircraft was not enough to be classified as a major fault.

He said, “Let us thank God first that we did not have a crash, which technically would not have happened with a cracked outer pane of the aircraft. A lot of reasons can cause the crack and one of them is the impact of take-off or landing.

“The pilot might have returned to Lagos because that is where the operational headquarters of his company is located, and more importantly, that is the only place where the minor fault can be fixed. The pane is not an ordinary glass. It has several layers with mercury in-between.”

Confirming the incident, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency said in a statement that the domestic flight 1170 operated by Overland with ATR-42 aircraft diverted from Ibadan en-route Abuja to Lagos following a reported cracked windshield. 
http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/aircraft-with-57-passengers-makes-air-return/