The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has debunked reports concerning the airworthiness of the helicopter that crashed in Port Harcourt last Friday.
The reports had said the helicopter was first delivered to Helikopter Service as SE-JFB. It was then bought by another aviation company in Hong Kong and registered as B-KCR. In 2004, the helicopter was bought by a Nigerian airline, Aero Contractors and registered as 5N-BGN.
“According to Flick, an online community founded in Canada, the chopper registration number was cancelled in September 2018 after it was “presumably scrapped” the report had said.
But in a statement signed by the Acting Director-General, NCAA, Chris Najomo, NCAA, the 5N-BGN helicopter was registered in 2012 contrary to the 2004 registration claims and is different from the crashed Sikorsky SK76 en route FPSO – NUIMS ANTAN which occurred on October 25, 2024.
Najomo said, “The attention of the Authority has been brought to a report by Sahara Reporters on the airworthiness status of the recently crashed helicopter with registration marks 5N-BQG prior to the crash.
“In their report, it was stated that the aircraft was initially registered in 2004 as 5N-BGN with Aero Contractors, and later deregistered to Canada in 2009.
“The report then concluded by questioning how the aircraft was transferred to Nigeria and re-registered as 5N-BQG before the crash.”
Further speaking, the authority said due to the similarities in the manufacturer serial number (MSN) codes both helicopters were mixed up.
It said the crashed Eastwind Aviation helicopter has MSN 760486, while the deregistered 5N-BGN helicopter has MSN 760468.
“It is important to state that aircraft can be tracked not only by their registration marks but also by their Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN),” the NCAA said.
“The 5N-BQG S76C+ Helicopter has MSN 760486, while the 5N-BGN S76C+ Helicopter has MSN 760468.
“The S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGN and MSN 760468 was first registered on 15 July 2004 with Aero Contractors as the operator and Capital Aviation Services B.V. as the owner.
“The registration was reissued on 13 December 2006 following a change of ownership to RBS Aerospace Limited.
“In February 2009, Aero Contractors deregistered the aircraft to Transport Canada.
“Meanwhile, the S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BQG and MSN 760486 was registered on 10 December 2012 with Nestoil Plc as the operator and owner.
“The registration was amended on 13 July 2021 due to a change of operator to OMNI-BLU Aviation Ltd. and ownership to DANBA Associates Limited.
“Further amendments were made on 30 May 2022 when ownership transferred to Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited, though OMNI-BLU remained the operator.
“The final amendment was made on 27 February 2024, changing the operator to Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited” the authority said on Wednesday.