Crashed Bristle Helicopter Black Box Recovered

The Accident investigation Bureau (AIB) announced yesterday that the flight recorder, known as the black box of the Sikosky 76 helicopter owned by Bristow, which crashed in Lagos on Wednesday had been recovered.


A statement signed by the head of communication of AIB, Tunji Oketunbi, said,“the search party led by Julius Berger with the assistance of hired divers located the recorders, which are expected to assist the investigators in unraveling the cause of the accident in which four passengers and two crew members died. Six other passengers are receiving treatment at a private hospital.

“The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) contains data generated from different parts of the aircraft including the engines and the avionics while the Cockpit Voice Recorder will unveil conversations within the cockpit and between the pilots and the Control Tower,” AIB said.

“The Accident Investigation Bureau announced today that the flight recorders, popularly known as black boxes, to the Sikosky 76 helicopter that crashed into the lagoon in Oworonshoki area of Lagos on Wednesday 12 August, 2015 have been recovered.”

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are the vital components that aid investigation to determine the cause or causes of accidents, the roles played by the pilot, the conversation between the cockpit and the tower and all the manoeuvring are captured in the equipment.

AIB said the Sikosky 76 helicopter marked 5N-BGD and operated by Bristow Helicopters was believed to have departed SEDCO oil platform offshore and crashed shortly before scheduled landing at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Bureau explained that the biggest part of the wreckage of the ill-fated aircraft was recovered on Thursday but without the black boxes so the search was resumed on Friday.
In continuing the search, AIB said it went further to retrieve documents and other materials from Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the airline operator.

“Other information will be released to the public as they unfold and according to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annexe 13".