Plane crashes galore

“We are at a critical moment in the crossroads of air transportation. We see continuing decline in overall industry quality, and we are nearing complete gridlock at many crucial airports.”
(Brent Bowen, director and professor UN Omaha Aviation Institute/Department of Public Administration, www.aviationaccidentlawnews.ntsb.com)

This isn’t news that is worth celebrating but if you live in Nigeria, at the moment; it’s hard to ignore. Here are the stats so far:

22 Oct 2005 : Bellview Airline crash, or explosion, or whatever fatality. The cause remains unknown to the public almost two months on. Occurred three minutes after takeoff from Lagos enroute to Abuja. Notably some VIP victims, now of blessed memories

Nov 28 2005: Two passengers on a Beechcraft 200 executive jet died when the aircraft on its way to Abuja crashed soon after take off from the Kaduna

10 Dec 2005: Sosoliso Airline crash at PortHarcourt Airport (destination). Occurred just at the landing. Notably, over 50 secondary school kids kicked the bucket. This was the final straw!

This means three local flight crashes in 48 days and over 200 deaths recorded. Yet, the Census 2006 figures will only be reduced minutely!
I almost wept when I had to see parents crying over the death of their kids, on TV. What went wrong? These are not the first instances of crashes in Nigeria, but never has it come in such quick succession. Any suggestions of calling it a ‘fluke’ is quite unpopular at the moment, even though you can never rule out coincidence in life.

However a majority of Nigerians would rather think of coincidence divinely. As I heard a couple of people comment: “God may be telling us something; perhaps we have drifted too far away from him”, and as the President, himself, said: “God allowed it happen…”
From a human point of view, it’s quite unfair; but sorry, this is God’s point of view. I don’t expect the bereaved families to bookmark my last phrase, but ironically, it’s the only genuine consolation they’ve got.

The most impressive thing was the immediate action of the government, insisting on thorough inspection of all local airline operators, as well as suspending flights of two airlines. Erstwhile, I took such proclamations with a pinch of salt. This time I can feel the conviction; the exigency of the decision, supported by public unanimity. Definitely, I expect the favourite action of ‘probing’ officials to still follow.

I have only travelled once by air (within the country), largely owing to cost of air fare, but for the sake of the more frequent passengers, we must be aware of precautions we can take to reduce the fatal risks of air crashes. From my research, this spans from attentiveness to the flight attendant’s pre-flight presentation on use of emergency exits and accompanying manuals (***hoping these are available on our local flights?!***), as well as dress consciousness. Dressing for a flight should not just be based on comfort, rather to minimize risk. Wearing certain materials can keep painful injuries from occurring. For example, wearing synthetic materials can melt under severe heat and burn your skin. Sturdy shoes can protect your feet, and contribute to a safe exit.
Understanding the safety measures you can take while using air travel can save lives should the unlikely event of an airplane crash occur.

Nonetheless, aviation accidents can not be absolutely curbed. Hence, in spite of the sanitization and reassured probity that is expected soon in the aviation industry in Nigeria, the best aim is a maximal reduction in crash per flights statistics. Even if such fatalities become a rarity, we wouldn’t humanly become happier. Historically therefore, if Man must fly, then Man must die.