96 Die In Another plane crash in Nigeria
 31st OCT 2006

Of the 105 people thought to be on board the ADC flight that crashed, 9 are said to have survived by the airline. The dead include the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammadu Maccido. The Boeing 737 passenger jet, owned by the domestic ADC airline, had taken off in the morning from Lagos for Sokoto in the north, via Abuja.

The plane crashed on farmland some four kilometres (three miles) out of Abuja airport and burst into flames, according to aviation officials. The plane is thought to have been 23 years old. The state-run News Agency of Nigeria said the son of Nigeria's former president Shehu Shagari (1979-1983) had been on the ill-fated airliner.

ADC airline last suffered a crash in November 1996, when one of its jets plunged into a lagoon outside Nigeria's main city, Lagos, killing all 143 aboard. Last year, two planes flying domestic routes crashed within seven weeks of each other, killing 224 people. Nigeria's air industry is notoriously unsafe.

On Oct. 22, 2005, a Boeing 737-200 plane belonging to Bellview airlines crashed soon after takeoff from the country's main city of Lagos, killing all 117 people aboard. On Dec. 10, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 plane operated by Sosoliso Airlines crashed while approaching the oil city of Port Harcourt, killing 107 people, most of them schoolchildren going home for Christmas.

Earlier this month, authorities released a report blaming the Sosoliso crash on bad weather and pilot error. The investigation of the Bellview crash is on going. President Obasanjo vowed to overhaul Nigeria's airline industry, following last year’s air disasters, blaming some of the industry's problems on corruption. This crash brings to question the effectiveness of the changes introduced by the authorities.

Back to Top
Post Your Feedback