Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has revealed that the Delta Airline’s engine fire incident that occurred February 13, 2018, was caused by a crack in one of the fuel nozzles of the aircraft.
Akin Olateru, commissioner of AIB, on Wednesday told journalists that the aircraft that was involved in the incident was now in America for further investigations.
Olateru explained that the cause of the incident was a contained engine fire, and the engine had to go back to the shop to do some analysis and checks to find out what really caused the problem.
“We nominated our National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to be part of the investigations. The report just came back last week and we found out that there was a crack in one of the fuel nozzles, which caused the engine fire. We are working hard on the investigation and will be concluded very soon,” he said.
Few weeks ago, AIB released a preliminary report on Delta that revealed a picture of the interior of the combustion chamber showing corrosion in the turbine section.
Recalled that on February 13, 2018, at about 2251hrs, a schedule flight DAL55, an Airbus A330-223 aircraft with registration N858NW belonging to Delta Airlines Inc., departed Lagos, Nigeria, for Atlanta, United States of America with 221 passengers and 13 crew on board made an air return few minutes after take-off following a fire warning on one of the engines.
The Bureau also announced the inauguration of a specially constituted committee on the effectiveness of 120 safety recommendations made by it from inception.
The commissioner said the safety recommendations were as critical as the investigation itself, as it was the lever used to effect safety changes and improvements in the aviation industry.
“AIB, during investigations, identifies a lot of hazards that sometimes may not be related to the particular occurrence under investigation but work with the operators to resolve them. It is noteworthy to state that safety recommendations/safety alerts can be made at any stage of the accident investigation and we do not have to wait until final report is released.
“While we appreciate that our safety recommendations have recorded positive impacts locally and globally, we found it imperative to holistically review the effectiveness of all the recommendations with a view to enhancing aviation safety to the benefits of all air travellers,” he said.
It is with this background that AIB decided to review its recommendations from inception totalling 120, and measure the level of their effectiveness, he said, adding that members of this committee are drawn from AIB, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Ministry of Transportation and the industry.
He noted that to ensure a balance and objectivity, Hadi Sirika, the minister of state for aviation, approved the appointment of experienced industry experts as consultants to the committee. They include Kiddie Dare and Gbolahan Abatan.
The committee will engage the affected stakeholders on the effectiveness of the safety recommendations addressed to them and submit their report to AIB management, which will work on it for the benefits of the industry.
