Dana Air Refutes Claims Of Paying Celebrities To Board Its Inaugural Flight

Is it a coincidence all these celebrities were on the inaugural flight of Dana Air? Just pondering out loud here folks.

Dana Air have responded to the critics via their Facebook page about the celebrities that were on board their inaugural flight from Lagos to Abuja on Friday January 4th.

Our attention has been drawn to some online media reports suggesting that celebrities BasketMouth, DIPP, Harrysong, and Buchi, who were among guests on board the Dana Air inaugural flight of Friday, 4th January, 2013, boarded the airplane for financial gains.

We would like to state that these claims are completely untrue. Like all other esteemed guests of the airline, many of which are notable personalities from Nigeria’s entertainment scene, these celebrities have always been a part of the Dana Air family.

Their decision to be part of the airline’s re-launch was purely out of goodwill, having personally experienced the unrivalled hospitality and world-class services offered by the airline many times before.

We also want to use this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to all our guests, many of whom have sent congratulatory messages and best wishes on the airline’s return, while pledging our commitment to the provision of safe, reliable and world-class air transport services.

Dana Air Management

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Helicopter Crash Update: Kaduna State Gov. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Gen Azazi Confirmed Dead On Ill-fated Helicopter Crash In Bayelsa

Its such a tragedy.

President Goodluck Jonathan, has released a statement, mourning the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa, Andrew Owoeye Azazi, among other occupants of the ill-fated helicopter, which crashed in his native Bayelsa state this evening.
                               
The four other occupants of the chopper were named as: Dauda Tsoho, an aide to Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna and Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal, an aide to former National Security Adviser, Owoye Azazi, and the pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole.

“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has expressed utter shock and sadness over the crash Saturday in Bayelsa State of a military helicopter resulting in the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoye Azazi (rtd), their aides, Dauda Tsoho and Warrant Officer Mohammed Kamal and the pilots, Commander Muritala Mohammed Daba and Lt. Adeyemi O. Sowole,” the statement said.

“The President extends deep and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, and the governments and people of Kaduna and Bayelsa States. He describes the sudden loss of these distinguished Nigerians as extremely painful to the entire nation.
“President Jonathan has ordered an investigation into the cause(s) of the crash.”

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Cobra Bites Man On Plane, Plane Makes Emergency Landing.

 
The thought alone will scare the shit out of most people I know.

A real snake was on a plane when it was discovered one of the passengers packed a cobra in his carry-on bag which ended up biting him, International Science Times reports Dec. 5.

The incident happened on Air Egypt last week on a flight from Cairo to Kuwait with 90 passengers on board. An emergency landing was made in Al Ghardaqa near the Red Sea -- a resort area in Egypt.
According to the Jordan Times, Senior Egypt Air official, Adli Saad, said the snake's owner was "trying to control the reptile as other passengers were terrified when they saw it crawling under their seats. It was then," Adli added, that his animal attacked."

Once the plane was stopped, the man was let off the plane and the dangerous snake was confiscated. The snake's owner actually refused treatment from the bite. He could face charges for smuggling a real snake on the plane, but no word on that has been released.

After the snake and its owner were off the plane, the flight was back on its way to Kuwait.
Luckily the snake on the plane didn't harm anyone else. Egyptian cobras are known to have enough venom to kill a human in 15 minutes and can kill an elephant in three hours.

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Plane Crash: Taraba Governor Danbaba Suntai Brain-Damaged

The Governor of Taraba State who was involved in a jet crash, and was flown abroad for medical treatment is now brain dead according to saharareporters.

''Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State, who was seriously injured when his plane crashed on October 25 in Yola, capital of Adamawa State, has suffered extensive brain damage and failed to recognize members of a presidential delegation that visited him at a hospital in Hanover, Germany.

A source close to a senior member of the delegation described the trip to see Mr. Suntai as highly secretive. SaharaReporters learnt that members of the delegation had officially traveled to Vatican City in Rome to witness the consecration of Archbishop John Onaiyekan as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. After the ceremony in Italy, the delegation then made a quick detour to Germany to see the injured Mr. Suntai.

A trip put together by  Gladys Modupeola Quist-Adebiyi, a staff of the Protocol Department at the Presidency was led by Senate President, David Mark, the delegation included Governor Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna State, President Goodluck Jonathan’s chief of staff, Mike Oghiadomhe, also on the delegation was John Kennedy Opara, the secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) and the Chaplain of the Presidential Villa Chapel, Venerable Obioma Onwuzurumba.

Our source said members of the delegation were shocked to see Mr. Suntai in a vegetative state. “His condition was so bad that they could not publicly disclose his condition after they returned to Nigeria,” said the source. SaharaReporters gathered that Mr. Suntai suffered brain damage in the crash of the small plane he was piloting. The crash happened a short distance from the Yola airport. Initial reports from eyewitnesses said Mr. Suntai had died, but it later emerged that he had survived the crash, albeit with critical injuries. He was transferred to the National Hospital in Abuja before being airlifted to Germany after President Jonathan had visited him and given a rosy picture of his condition. Four state officials traveling with Mr. Suntai in the crashed plane were treated in hospitals in Adamawa and later transferred to Germany for treatment after a public outcry.

Since Mr. Suntai’s airlift to Germany, officials of the Taraba State government have engaged in propaganda, claiming that the governor was making remarkable recovery. But our sources, including an official of the state government, admitted that Mr. Suntai’s mental faculty had deteriorated since the accident and that his memory was virtually impaired.

“It is possible that he suffered brain damage because there was some delay before he could be taken abroad,” said a state official.

Contacted by SaharaReporters, a Taraba-born political activist who is based in Abuja said he had also heard about the visit to the ailing governor by Senate President Mark's delegation. He wondered if Mr. Mark’s silence on Governor Suntai's health status signaled a scheme by President Jonathan to delay the swearing in of the deputy governor as the substantive governor.

“We all know how President Umaru Yar’Adua’s people continued to deceive Nigerians that the man was recovering well and how they even brought him back in a comatose state and declared that he was in control of Nigeria,” said the activist. He added: “I hope President Jonathan and the PDP are not planning a similar scenario whereby they will declare that Governor Suntai is in control – until they find a malleable successor who suits them.”

The activist stated that the Presidency should state the truth about the injured governor’s condition to enable the people of Taraba to move ahead with a new administration. “The fact that the people of Taraba have not heard from or seen the governor since the air crash on October 25 2012 means that the man is no longer fit to govern them,” he said.

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Aviation: Plane Nearly Crushed A Mad Man On MM International Airport Runway

Arik Air flight nearly crushed a man in ragged clothes and dishevelled hair who stood few metres away from the touch down area at the domestic runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, known as Runway 18L about 4:30 pm last Tuesday.

An Arik Air flight bound for Uyo was waiting at the threshold of the runway, known as holding point for the arriving aircraft to land so that it would take off, but as the aircraft was to touch down the passengers and the cockpit crew of the waiting aircraft saw a man walking about near the landing point of the aircraft and escaped being crushed by the tyres and the wing of the aircraft.

When the man identified as mad because of his slovenly, ragged appearance was spared by the aircraft that landed, he walked to the threshold where the Uyo bound flight was waiting and began to knock at the aircraft door, requesting that door be opened for him.

Eye witness account disclosed that the pilot of the aircraft was afraid that the man might walk farther towards the engine of the aircraft and he would be sucked in and roasted, so he quickly switched off the engine of the plane, sustaining the system of the aircraft, including the air conditioning with auxiliary power unit (APU).

At that point the situation had become an emergency so he quickly called the Control Tower and Aviation Security, informing them about the man walking about in the most restricted area of the airport.

The pilot who nearly landed his aircraft on the man was said to have also called the Control Tower immediately he landed and the incident was recorded on the log book by the Air Traffic Controllers who were on duty at the time the incident happened.

“The pilot said that he feared for the man’s life when he came knocking on the aircraft door because few steps would have taken him into the engine of the aircraft that would have roasted him and that was why he quickly switched off the engine. That would have been catastrophic and tragic had it happened that way,” the source explained.

It took 20 minutes before two aviation security vehicles coming from the opposite sides, one from the international side of the runway and the other from the General Aviation Terminal (GAT)and  converged before the mad man.

Aviation Security officials jumped out, held him and forced him into one of the vans and whisked him away and it was then that the controllers allowed the aircraft lined up at the holding point to begin to take off.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) explained that the man probably scaled the perimeter fencing to gain entry to the runway. This incident reinforces the fact that the in spite of the efforts made by the agency, the airport is still porous.

Runway incursion has been a regular occurrence at the nation’s airports and this is attributed to lack of perimeter fencing at most of these airports and that is why the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has not certified any of these airports because they have not met accepted safety standards for their certification.

Reacting to this incident, industry operators who spoke to THISDAY said that FAAN should consider it as top priority to complete the perimeter fencing project that is going on in some of the nation’s airports.

One of the operators urged the agency to intensify the regular patrol of the runways and the perimeter area of the airport to ensure that runway incursion such as the above incident, did not happen again.

THISDAY

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Hired Pilot Warned Gov. Suntai Not To Fly But He Ignored It - Report

REPORTS REACHING RHIPPLEMEDIA has it that the recent crash of Cessna 208, a private jet piloted by Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State could have been prevented if he had heeded the professional advice of his hired pilot not to fly to Yola airport at sunset.


According to reports, the hired pilot had earlier warned the governor against flying to the airport when it was obvious that they could not meet with the visual flight mandatory for that type of aircraft which is not in the instrument flight category.

It was learnt that this advice was allegedly jettisoned by Governor Suntai who was said to have immediately taken over the cockpit and embarked on the ill-fated journey with the said pilot refusing to join the flight because of the obvious risk.

Yola airport is not in the category of airports where flights can be operated for 24 hours because it is not well-equipped which makes it a no go area after 6.00 p.m.

Only Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt are on 24-hour flight operations. According to the country's aviation policy, small jets like the Cessna plane Governor Suntai piloted on the day in question was only allowed to fly based on visuals from morning to 6.00 p.m. daily.

And once the sun sets, it is always difficult to fly smaller aircraft like the governor's plane.

The governor, who has since been flown to Germany foradequate treatment in view of the injury he sustained in the crash, obtained a private pilot licence from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, which allows him to fly himself.

The ill-fated plane which departed Jalingo, Taraba State, for Yola, Adamawa State, was reported to have lost contact with the Yola Control Tower (1720Z) and field in sight at 38 miles, estimating landing at 1730Z before crashing

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Illegal Migrantion: Male Stowaway Found Dead In Arik Air's Undercarriage

Illegal migration that took death twist. People hatch and explore all kinds or reckless means of leaving the shores of Nigeria. Going by the way the country is run do you blame those seeking greener pastures even though it is not guaranteed to be green after all. By virtue of the Nigeria's flag we have lots of GREEN PASTURE.

 The dead body of a young Nigerian man was discovered yesterday Friday October 26th in the wheel well, the undercarriage compartment of an Arik Air aircraft, after it returned from a flight to New York, United States.

Apparently, The deceased hid himself in the wheel Compartment for days and was crushed to death while the flight was airborne to the JF Kennedy Airport, New York, from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

An official who spoke to Journalist said the dead body was found during a check on the aircraft panel as it was being prepared for another flight and that the undercarriage compartment of the Airbus A340-500 is big enough to accommodate a person, besides the space for the tyres.

"He probably might have hidden himself there some days and died while the aircraft was on its way to New York. We found him when we were doing checks on the panel; the aircraft probably came back with him dead," the official said.

The source said that it is out of ignorance that people hide in the wheel well and plan to stowaway because "the compartment is not pressurised like the cabin of an aircraft and it is not heated, so survival is rare even if the person is not crushed by the wheels."

Pilots and aeronautical engineers familiar with the wheel well compartment said it is roomy enough to contain a human being, but it is highly unlikely that any one who hid there would come out alive after a flight that took several hours due to lack of oxygen.

The official attributed the incident to porous security at the airport, noting that "if having access to the airside is stringently prohibited, anybody that is not an official of airlines, handling companies and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria would not gain access to the tarmac."

Another source said: "The security at the airport is very bad and that explains why somebody can gain access to the airside and inside the aircraft and no one will know. Security around the cargo area is even worse and from there anybody can take anything into the tarmac. Now, it is a human being that is smuggled in; one day a dangerous object will be smuggled in."

THISDAY investigations revealed that stowaways connive with ground handling companies to access the airside and the wheel well.

"The handling company workers and the security operatives indulge in a lot of illicit activities at the airport and over the years there have been efforts to put a check on such excesses but every effort has so far failed," said another source.

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Rivers State Governor Amaechi, Acquires $50Million Private Jet

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 (N565RS) for his exclusive use, SaharaReporters has learnt. Mr. Amaechi’s lavish new “toy” comes at a time hundreds of thousands of residents in his state are displaced by the worst flooding crisis in the state’s history.

The newly purchased jet left Montreal-Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Quebec to Dakar Yoff International Airport. And then it was delivered to the state government on October 7th 2012.

The jet was primarily purchased from Bombardier in Canada for $45.7 million through the Bank of Utah Trustee account. “This is an ungodly act,” said a Port Harcourt-based human rights campaigner.

“Why should Governor Amaechi’s priority be to acquire a jet at a time the state is experiencing the worst flooding in its history, leaving many Rivers indigenes homeless?” he added.

Last year Mr. Amaechi traded off the state’s current Embraer Legacy 600 claiming it was too expensive to maintain. There were also unconfirmed claims that the jet was struck by lightning. The oil-rich Rivers State already owns an AW139 helicopter which it leased to Aero Contractors. The state then turned around to patronize Aero’s VIP Sikorsky S76C helicopter at a cost one critic described as “exorbitant and unjustified.”

Last year, the state government sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million. Cross River State then leased the plane to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip in the state.

Sahara Reporters

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Reavealed: How Taraba State Governor's Plane Crash Happened

The SA on media to the Aviation Minister, Joe Obi has released a statement concerning the plane crash the Governor of Taraba was involved in yesterday. The good news is that he is still alive.

Contrary to reports flying that Taraba State Governor is dead, the Federal Ministry of Aviation has just issued a statement saying the Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai, and the other five passengers aboard the crashed plane are alive.

The statement titled “Incident Involving Aircraft, Cessna 208, 5N-BMJ in Yola, Adamawa State, reads:

“An aircraft, Cessna 208 with 6 souls on board including crew, operated by the Taraba State Government departed Jalingo, Taraba State for Yola this evening and reported contact with the Yola Control Tower (1720Z) and field in sight at 38 miles estimating landing at 1730Z. The pilot subsequently lost contact with Yola Control Tower and subsequent effort to raise the aircraft failed.”.

“Search & Rescue team were immediately activated and site of incident located with all victims alive with various degrees of injuries. The victims have been evacuated to the hospital for treatment pending further investigation of the incident.”

“This is the correct version of the incident; every other one that is contrary to this is incorrect.”

SIGNED: Joe Obi,SA (Media) to Aviation Minister

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