Dana Air, based in Lagos, Nigeria, first began operating in 2008. On June 3, Dana Air flight 0992 crashed, killing 153 passengers and crew as well as at least 10 individuals on the ground. In response, Nigerian aviation officials have suspended the airline’s operating license. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority in Nigeria indicated that the license will be reinstated if the airline is capable of completing the recertification process.
Despite heavy rains that have made the recovery process challenging, both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been located by investigators. The director of operations at Dana Air said that the pilot had declared an emergency before the flight went down. He also indicated that witnesses at the scene reported engine trouble leading up to the deadly crash, though the cause of the crash had not yet been confirmed by Nigerian authorities.
Officials at the privately-owned airline reported that the aircraft, a Boeing MD-83, had received routine maintenance checkups per every 200 flight hours. They also reported that the aircraft had been inspected just three days before the accident. The aircraft was built in 1992 and was purchased by Dana Air from Alaskan Airlines. According to a Dana Air press release, the pilot, an American, joined the airline in March and had been a captain with Spirit Airlines in South Florida from 1997 to 2009.
Both American and Nigerian authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash. Meanwhile, a wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed in Chicago by one of the victim’s families.
Source: CNN, “Airline’s license suspended in Nigeria crash; data recorder found,” by Vladimir Duthiers, 5 June 2012