Preliminary Report Released By The NAIB

A preliminary report on an accident in which an MD-83 (similar airplane pictured in file photo) went down last month in the Nigerian city of Lagos, resulting in the fatal injury of at least 163 people, indicates both engines flamed out while the airplane was preparing to land.

The airplane went down in a residential neighborhood near Murtala Muhammed International Airport following a flight from the Nigerian capital of Abuha. There were 153 people on board the airplane, and at least 10 people on the ground were confirmed to have been killed in the accident, according to the report.

The audio retrieved from the Cockpit Voice Recorder is a conversation between the pilot and first officer in which they discuss an engine indicator light and throttle setting. The engines failed after the pilots had extended both the flaps and landing gear. The pilot is heard to say "We lost an engine, I lost both engines." Impact came about 25 seconds later.

The 55-year-old captain, who the Associated Press identifies as U.S. citizen Peter Waxon, held an airline transport pilot license with type ratings in the A-3204, DC-9, FK-285, and SF-3406. He had over 18,116 hours of total time, including 16,416 hours of pilot-in-command time (PIC). The captain had 7,461 hours in the accident model airplane all of which was as PIC. He was employed with Dana Air on 14 March 2012. He began flying line operations for the company in late May 2012 and had since accrued over 120 hours of flight time. The captain had acquired about 3, 78, and 116 flight hours, respectively, in the preceding 24 hours, 30 and 90 days.

The first officer, age 34, held a commercial pilot license he was type rated in MD-83. He had 1,143 hours of total time, including about 200 hours as pilot-in-command. The first officer had 808 hours in the accident model airplane all of which was second-in-command.

The airplane's Flight Data Recorder was destroyed by the post-impact fire.

The preliminary report indicates there was no contamination of the fuel on board the airplane, though it will undergo more tests as the investigation continues.

FMI: Read the Report