Helicopter Crash: Pilots Dead Bodies Found,Black Boxes Missing

The two remaining persons on board the ill-fated Bristow helicopter that crashed into the Lagos lagoon on Wednesday have been recovered.

The victims – the pilots, Captain Joseph Wyatt and First Officer Peter Bello – who were fished out of the lagoon by emergency management agencies and local divers at about 10.30am, had, however, died.

The recovery brought the number of deceased persons to six.

Punch had reported on Thursday that the chopper had taken off from an oil rig station in the country for Lagos, but plunged into the lagoon in the Alonge, Oworonshoki area of the state five minutes before the arrival time.

It was also reported that of the 12 passengers, said to be oil workers on board the flight, 10 were recovered on Wednesday with four dead and six sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Michael Akindele, said all the 12 persons that were on board had been accounted for.

He said, “The rescue mission as far as we are concerned has been concluded.”

The South West Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Bandele Onibode, said the Accident Investigation Bureau would handle the second phase of the recovery, which involved the wreckage of the helicopter

The Accident Investigation Bureau, the Federal Government agency investigating the fatal air crash involving the chopper belonging to Bristow Helicopters Nigeria Limited, on Thursday said the black boxes of the ill-fated aircraft had yet to be found over 24 hours after the accident.

The black boxes refer to the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder. The two key safety devices, usually installed in every aircraft, are meant to give indications of the causes of an air accident.

Punch report.