Dual engine failure caused the crash of a Nigerian plane that killed 150 people on board, including two Indians, in Lagos last month, a preliminary official report has said.
The Nigerian government has released the results made available by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) on the possible causes of the Dana airline crash that killed all 153 passengers and 6 crew members.
An Indian from Kerala, Rijo Eldos, was aboard the aircraft which crashed into a building in a highly populated area of Nigeria's commercial capital while the co-pilot of the plane was an American of Indian origin, Mahendra Singh Rathore.
The Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner of AIB, Captain Muhtar Usman, said the plane crashed, because of complete loss of power from its two engines while approaching the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
The preliminary report stated that the plane was on the fourth flight segment of the day, and had made consistent two round-trips between the commercial city of Lagos and the country's capital Abuja.
"The accident occurred during the return leg of the second trip. DAN 992 was on final approach for runway 18R at Lagos when the crew reported the total loss of power," the statement said.
The plane after taxing in Abuja was airborne after initial confirmation by the ground engineers that it had a fuel endurance of 3.5 hours.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR), retained about 31 minutes of the flight and starts about 1515 at which time the captain and first officer were in a discussion of a non-normal condition regarding the correlation between the engine throttle setting and an engine power indication.
According to the statement, the flight crew did not voice concerns then that the condition would affect the continuation of the flight as they continued to monitor the condition.
They became increasingly concerned during the flight transition through the initial descent from cruise altitude at 1522 and the subsequent approach phase.
It was at the crucial decision moment, during the period of 1537 and 15:41, that the flight crew engaged in pre-landing tasks including deployment of the slats, and extension of the flaps and landing gear.
"At 15:41:16 the first officer (FO) inquired, 'Both engines coming up?' and the captain (Capt) replied "negative".
The flight crew subsequently discussed and agreed to declare an emergency.
At 1542:10, DANA 992 radioed an emergency distress call indicating "dual engine failure... negative response from throttle".
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