Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05LAGOS1869
2005-12-11 16:17:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Lagos
Cable title:  

SOSOLISO AIRPLANE CRASH:CONSULAR AND NTSB

Tags:  EAIR CASC ASEC AMGT NI PREL 
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111617Z Dec 05
UNCLAS LAGOS 001869 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY

STATE PASS FAA FOR ACONLEY,
TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA; DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO FAA REP ED
JONES; ROME PLEASE PASS TO TSA REP JOHN HALINSKI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR CASC ASEC AMGT NI PREL
SUBJECT: SOSOLISO AIRPLANE CRASH:CONSULAR AND NTSB
OFFICIALS ON SITE

REF: ABUJA 2387

----------------------------------------
Mission Confirms Amcit Onboard;Dispatches
Consular Team;No News From Next-Of-Kin
-----------------------------------------

UNCLAS LAGOS 001869

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY

STATE PASS FAA FOR ACONLEY,
TRANSPORTATION FOR FAA; DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO FAA REP ED
JONES; ROME PLEASE PASS TO TSA REP JOHN HALINSKI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR CASC ASEC AMGT NI PREL
SUBJECT: SOSOLISO AIRPLANE CRASH:CONSULAR AND NTSB
OFFICIALS ON SITE

REF: ABUJA 2387

--------------
Mission Confirms Amcit Onboard;Dispatches
Consular Team;No News From Next-Of-Kin
--------------


1. (U) In response to the December 10 Sosoliso flight OSL
1145 air crash, Mission sent a two-member consular response
team (CRT) to Port Harcourt on December 11 to observe the
crash site, to ascertain the number of Amcits involved, and
follow up on Amcit casualties. The Nigerian Red Cross
reported 103 passengers and 7 crew members onboard the plane
with only 5 survivors, all in critical condition. Most of
the bodies are severely burned but have been secured and
taken to local mortuaries. Already, we know that one Amcit,
Hawa Kamara, was onboard the flight from Abuja to Port
Harcourt. We have not yet been able to reach the next-of-kin
of Ms. Kamara. The emergency contact she provided has not
yet responded to us and Post has alerted the Embassy in
Monrovia where her parents reside. There are unconfirmed
reports that two of the students from the Jesuit school might
have been Amcits. The CRT is visiting local hospitals and
mortuaries to determine the status of Ms. Kamara and other
possible Amcits.

--------------
NTSB Rep & Nigerian Officials Visit Site,
Locate Data Recorders
--------------


2. (U) National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB)
Representative Dennis Jones went to Port Harcourt Airport
today and reported the flight data and cockpit voice
recorders have been found. The NTSB Rep reported the
airplane crashed 2,100 feet from the beginning of the runway
and approximately 240 feet left of the runway. The plane
crashed into a ditch, hitting a concrete wall inside the
ditch, Accidents Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB)
Director Angus Ozoka said. The plane broke into several
fragments and also caught fire. Ozoka intends to send the
recorders to the United Kingdom for analysis.


3. (U) The tragedy was compounded by the poor emergency
preparedness at the airport. Of the four fire trucks there,
only one functioned and that vehicle lacked water.

--------------
Police Attempting to Secure Site, But
Obstacles Remain
--------------


4. (U) Police have secured the crash site at Port Harcourt
Airport. NTSB's Jones and Nigerian Red Cross officials
reported the site is much better secured than the site of the
October Bellview crash, but AIPB Director Ozoka complained
Nigerian media were trying to get access into the crash site.


5. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja DCM Tom
Furey.
BROWNE