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Nigeria: Sosoliso Crash - Aircraft Sold to Settle Crash Victims
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Leadership (Abuja)
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Ime Akpan
Abuja
Families of victims of the Sosoliso aircraft, which crashed at the Port Harcourt Airport in 2005, would soon heave a sigh of relief as one of the defunct carrier's aircraft has been sold to pay compensation.
An aviation lawyer, Mr. Pekun Sowole, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at the 5th Anniversary of Aviation Round Table (ART).
The legal practitioner stated that initially the airline was dragging its feet over the amount that should be paid as compensation to the families.
"Sosoliso was under the impression that there is a minimum limit of $10, 000 and they insured each passenger to a minimum of $10, 000," he stated.
He disclosed that the insurance document was submitted to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The NCAA, he said, wrote to the airline requesting it to up its insurance to $100, 000.
Unfortunately, Sowole said, in the process of communication, the airline lost one of its aircraft in the Port Harcourt incident.
After the crash, the lawyer said, the airline continued to argue that the maximum benefit that a passenger should claim, with reference to the Nigerian situation, was $10,000.
The matter, according to him, was taken to court, thus leading to the sale of one of Sosoliso's aircraft to offset claims to the victims.
He revealed that money from the sale had been lodged in an escrow account.
On the claims by families of victims of the Bellview plane crash in Lisa village, Ogun State, also in 2005, Sowole said the management of the airline did not hesitate to pay the mandatory compensation of $100, 000. He therefore called on airline operators to participate in the things that affect the industry for "if they don't, they run into trouble."
Meanwhile, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, has expressed disappointment at the inability of the mandated disaster management agencies to find the missing Beechcraft 1900D, more than 10 days since it disappeared without any trace.
His concern came in the wake of a call by the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) that government and aviation authorities should broaden the scope of the search for the aircraft by mobilising the locals and giving them a handsome financial reward to carry out foot search in suspected areas.
Bankole, who expressed his displeasure over the incident while speaking to journalists yesterday at the presidential wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, added that people were generally not impressed by efforts made so far. However, he expressed the hope that by God's grace a solution would be found.
"I think we are all disappointed at the effort that has been made and we hope that by God's grace we will be able to come up with a favourable solution at the end of the matter. Because of the sensibility of the matter, I will want to hear from the aviation ministry first before I make comments on that," he said.
Meanwhile, NAAPE had called on government to seek international assistance in the area of employing sophisticated equipment to track down the aircraft or its wreckage.
In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday and signed by its president, Capt Julius Owolabi, NAAPE said: "International assistance in the areas of the use of sophisticated equipment and personnel should be sought to aid and strengthen the search. For a long term solution, government should set up a functional search and rescue unit in the aviation industry to complement National Emergency Management Agency's (NEMA) effort."
It sympathised with the families of the pilot, the crew members and the aircraft operator, adding that NAAPE was displeased with the inciting and uncomplimentary remarks made by certain individuals and organisations over the unfortunate incident.
The association said such comments were capable of distorting facts that could lead to the resolution of the problem at hand.
Meanwhile, Bankole, who further commented on the just concluded power probe, said that the House of Representatives would complete the job it has started.
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"I am not a soothsayer, so I can't tell you what will happen tomorrow. But what I am going to tell you is that the House of Representatives will stand on its honour. We will complete our job the way we started it and we will pass our resolutions to the right agencies that will now take action on it," he declared.
It is very unfortunately that the burden to compensate the victims’ families of the Sosoliso aircraft which crashed at Port Harcourt Airport in 2005 has been placed on Sosoliso alone. The fact of the matter is that the Federal Government is equally culpable for negligence and laxity for lack of functional navigator equipment and fire service. It is against this background that the Fed. engaged in a colossal upgrade of the airport after the crashed as recommended by Adim. Dike's commission.
Such evasion by the Fed. to pay its share of the compensation to the families of the victims placed... [Read Full Text]
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