NCAA Explains Airworthiness, Clears Confusion Over Crashed Helicopter’s Registration, Ownership History

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has revealed the status of the helicopter that crashed last week near Port Harcourt leading to the death of the eight souls on board.

The regulatory authority said it has to clear the air about the genesis of the aircraft due to conflicting reports that emerged after the tragic accident.

It was stated that the aircraft was initially registered in the year 2004 as 5N-BGN with Aero Contractors after which it was deregistered to Canada in the year 2009. 

Reports further stated that the aircraft registration was cancelled in September 2018 after it was “presumably scrapped”, without clearly stating how the equipment was brought to Nigeria.

NCAA, in its response, stated that based on its records, the aircraft could be tracked not only by their registration marks but also by their Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN), adding that the 5N-BQG S76C+Helicopter has its MSN as 760486 while the 5N-BGN S76C+ Helicopter has its MSN as 760468.

The acting director general, NCAA, Chris Najomo,  stated that the S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGN and MSN:760468 was initially registered at the age of seven Years on the 15th July, 2004 with Aero Contractors as the operator and Capital Aviation Services B.V. as the registered owner. 

Najomo said the registration was re-issued on the 13th December, 2006 when the ownership of the helicopter changed to RBS Aerospace Limited.

He noted that the reports making rounds could not clearly differentiate the records of the recently crashed Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Ltd S76C+Helicopter with registration mark 5N-BQG and MSN: 760486 and the Aero Contractors re-registered Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGN and MSN: 760468.

Chinedu Eze

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