The confusion called manifest

Aviation authorities need to come out clear with the embarrassment that is smudged across the atmosphere anytime there is an air crash especially in Nigeria. It is so difficult to determine casualty figures because confusion continues to mount and the solution has not been proffered yet.

The recent crash involving a Bristow Helicopter aptly captured the usual tardiness on the part of carriers and even regulators. A few hours after the chopper went down, there were reports that one of the victims was Ben Ochenjele, a pastor. His nephew, Isaac, posted comments and tributes flooded the internet. It took Bristow quite sometime to release the flight manifest.

While names were bandied, the conclusion was that there were 12 persons on the ill-fated flight that ended up in the Oworonshoki, axis of the Lagos Lagoon. On the first day of the search and rescue operations, six persons were said to have survived. Four bodies were brought out by local divers and other agencies of government.

It took another 24 hours for the bodies of the pilot and the First Officer to be retrieved from the ocean. Among the dead were Flight Commander Joseph Wyatt; Co- Pilot Peter Bello; Ita Ekpeyong; Chidi Ukwunta; Chris Abua and Chukwuma Erise. The survivors were named as Dolu Ebiejuara, Onoriede Onojete, Solomon Udeh, Chukwudi Onah, Joshua Emekeme and Iniala Opaimi.

There was no mention of Ochenjele. The burial of Bello in Calabar was given deserved attention not just because he could have been the youngest of the dead, he was known as a photographer as well as engineer. His sister, Miriam, is billed to be taken to the altar on September 12, 2015 by Ujunwa Akwiwu, a pilot.

The question now is where is Ben Ochenjele, is he dead or alive? And if dead was he on the flight? The family must be in a position to let the public know. Someone whose death was reported in the media following the Bristow helicopter crash, an account that has not been disputed by those who knew him, should not be missing from the list released by aviation authorities.

This will not be the first time such conflicting account and figures will stare us all in the face. When a Nigeria Air Force Fokker 27 aircraft crashed around the Escravos Bay in May 1980, initial reports said there were 15 passengers and all perished. Among the dead were former Sokoto state governor, Brig. Umaru Mohammed, Commander Kesiena Salubi, Mrs. Ebun Oyagoa and Dr. Lawrence Akanle. The family of Ajibade Ajike of the Department of Information in President Shehu Shagari’s office, was sure their son was on the flight. The destination was Sao Tome and Principe as part of a Federal Government delegation to concretise bilateral trade agreement between Nigeria and the small island nation.

He had told his brother, Jacob, that he was travelling with a powerful team. What convinced aviation authorities was his Toyota Corona with registration number OD 2169 W, parked at the car lot of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja. Casualty figure then rose to 16, then it became 17 and turned to 18 dead.

There was a similar but more confusing scenario in 1992 when another military aircraft, Charlie 130 Air Force Hercules, plunged into Ejigbo, Lagos swamp. Till date, it is doubtful if the exact casualty figure has been determined. Officially, those who died were young officers, all students of the Command and Staff College , Jaji and some officials of the Ministry of Defence.

However, indications emerged that there were more passengers that could be accounted for as there were no survivors. Musa , the 12-year-old son of Lt. Col. Musa Gambo was handed over to one of the dead officers by his father. The boy, a student of the Nigeria Military School, Zaria was travelling back from holidays. At the burial ceremony in Abuja, the father was there to mourn his ward whose death was not officially acknowledged.

There were so many officers who were supposed to be on the flight but were not. Some missed it, a few chose alternative carriers when the mechanical fault that eventually led to the disaster was taking long to fix. One Squadron Leader Garba was saved because his wife was delivered of a baby, a development which forced him to obtain one day’s pass. Many thought he died. He was lucky, only his luggage which he handed over to a colleague perished. Some reports were so sure that only one woman, Mrs Abu of the Defence Ministry died.

That turned out to be false. One of the dead was Major Grace Nwada Nze [N6348] of the Nigeria Army Medical Corps. Even in 2102 when a Dana Airlines flight crashed in Lagos, the initial list of victims was faulted when Army Two- Star general Tahir Umar appeared in Abuja.

The man was presumed dead before he alerted Defence Headquarters of his safety. Although booked to fly, he could not make the fatal trip. Aviation authorities therefore have to put their acts together. It does not show seriousness when they keep repeating the same mistakes. It also calls to question the calibre of officials occupying high positions in the industry.

If they cannot even produce a genuine list of flight passengers, we are afraid they cannot guarantee standards. While the last may not have been heard of the crashed Bristow helicopter, we expect lasting solution to controversial and confusing tales from those whose responsibility it is to guarantee safety in the sky.