Monday 17 March 2008

Another Ugly Chapter

The missing Beechcraft 1900D light aircraft has been found almost 48 hours after its disappearance.

The wreckage of the plane was located in Dabu Village in Yalla Local Council of Cross River State where it crashed.

All the three crew members were confirmed dead in the mishap.

The report of the discovery of the plane ended the confusion, anxiety and fear that pervaded the aviation sector since Saturday when the aviation authorities reported the disappearance of the plane belonging to Wings Aviation Ltd.

The aircraft, which departed Lagos at 07.35 a.m. for Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River State, made contact with the Enugu Control Tower at about 7. 54 a.m. and lost touch with it at 08.04 a.m.

Prior to the discovery of the scene of the crash, Nigeria had reached out to neighbouring Cameroun to help it trace the chartered aircraft.

The Minister of State for Air Transport, Hassan Felix Hyat, told journalists yesterday that the aircraft was found in the hilly village very close to Obudu Cattle Ranch Resort.

Earlier yesterday, Hyat disclosed that the government had contacted the Camerounian authorities to assist it trace the plane in its shore.

It's reaaly a shame that we don't have equipment to trace a missing aircraft and it had to take several hours to find the crash site.

Who knows if the system was effective the lives of the victims could have been saved with timely medical attention.

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