Dana Staff is Being Tried in Nigeria Today

THE TRIAL FOR THE OWNERS DANA AIR PLANE WHICH CRASHED ON SUNDAY JUNE 17 2012. . .

FACTS ABOUT THE PLANE THAT CRASHED.

Facts are emerging on the possible cause of the Dana Air MC Donnell Douglas MD 83 which crashed around Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, yesterday. The aircraft has a history of worrying defaults even before original owners, US-based Alaska Airlines sold it to Dana Airlines on February 17, 2009.

According to the information from Aviation Safety Network, an exclusive service of the Air Safety Foundation, the ill-fated aircraft was acquired by Alaska Airline in November 13, 1990 with registration number N944AS.

However, on November 4, 2002 the aircraft developed fault and had emergency diversion due to smoke and electrical smell in the cabin area, which engineers said was because light ballast had over heated.

Four years after, the aircraft’s health was also called to question when on August 20, 2006, it was again evacuated after landing at the Long Beach, CA due to a chaffed wire bundle that discharged and produced smoke in the cabin area again.

Apparently scared that the worst could happen, Alaska Airlines was said to have on August 21 parked the aircraft at Victorville until September 11 2008 when it carried out maintenance on it.

Eventually on February 2009 Alaska Airlines shifted the burden to Nigeria when it sold the ill-fated plane as 5N-RAM. The MD-83 was manufactured in 1983, announced go-ahead on January 31, 1983 and had first flight on December 17, 1984

It was a longer range development of the basic MD-81/82 with higher weights, more powerful engines, increased fuel capacity and longer range. It was equipped with slightly more powerful 21,000 1bf (93 kN) Pratt and Whitney JT8D-219s as standard.

The aircraft also had higher operating weights with MTOW increased to 160,000 1b and MLW to 139,500 1b. Typical range for the MD-83 with 155 passengers in around 2,504 nautical miles (4,637km).