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Nigeria: Missing Plane - Nema Invites Foreign Experts
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Leadership (Abuja)
24 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Sunday Isuwa
Following the mysterious disappearance of a Beechcraft 1900D aircraft on March 15, 2008, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has concluded arrangement to fly in search and rescue experts from the United States of America.
The Beechcraft on Saturday March 15, was reportedly missing after it took off from the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos enroute to Cross River State.
As the search continues, the director of search and rescue (SAR) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Air Commandant DA Shuaibu, said last night that the agency had concluded plans to bring in experts from the United States and other developed nations to help recover the 19-seater aircraft and its three crew.
Giving reasons why experts should be brought in from European countries, Shuaibu, however, said that the option of co-opting expatriate becomes inevitable because the agency had done its best without success.
"The agency cannot close its door to foreign countries with superior equipment for recovery exercise of this nature.
"So far, we have done our best in searching this Beechcraft. We have went round Obudu, part of Cross Rivers State, and arrangement have been made with the Cameroonians authorities to extended the search to Cameroons, Shuaibu sated.
While assuring that the aircraft would be found, Shuaibu, however, reiterated that "searching for a missing aircraft is not an easy task."
The aircraft, which belongs to Wing Airlines, was on its way to take the Cross River State governor, Mr. Liyel Imoke, and some senior officials of his administrator who were in Obudu Ranch resort for a retreat, when it was reportedly missing.
Meanwhile, experts in the Aviation industry have continued to raised comments about the frequent air crashes experiment in the country.
One of them is Captain Dan Omale, who said that air crashes could become history in Nigeria if the powers-that-be work hard for it.
Omale while explaining further said that corruption is the hugest challenge facing the industry.
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Speaking with LEADERSHIP, Omale, however, said that air crashes would be checked in Nigeria when the federal government begins to "professionally investigate and understand the causes of each accident that has taken place in the country and measures are put in place to prevent future occurrences."
It would be recalled that before the missing Beechcraft 1900D, aircraft a Nigerian military aircraft carrying 12 people, among them military officers, had crashed on September 17, 2006, in the Southern-Eastern part of the country.
The airforce plane was flying from Abuja to Obudu ran before it crashed, killing most of the occupants who were all senior military officers.
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