The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has dismissed claims regarding the airworthiness of the helicopter that crashed in Port Harcourt last Friday, clarifying that the aircraft, with registration number 5N-BQG, met all regulatory requirements and had never been scrapped, as previously reported by some media outlets.
In a statement, Acting Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, explained that confusion arose from incorrect information regarding the helicopter’s previous ownership and status. He emphasized that the NCAA maintains detailed tracking records for each aircraft, not only by registration numbers but also by their unique Manufacturer Serial Numbers (MSN).
According to NCAA records, the S76C+ helicopter that recently crashed, bearing MSN 760486, was initially registered on December 10, 2012, with Nestoil Plc as the owner and operator. Ownership changed hands over the years, transferring to Omni-Blu Aviation Ltd. in 2021, then to Danba Associates Limited, and ultimately to Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Ltd. as of February 27, 2024.
Najomo highlighted that the reports in question mistakenly confused this helicopter (MSN 760486) with a different S76C+ helicopter, registered as 5N-BGN with MSN 760468. That aircraft was previously registered with Aero Contractors in 2004, later deregistered in 2009 to Canada, and had no connection to the recent incident.
The NCAA concluded that the misreporting by some media outlets failed to distinguish between the two helicopters, resulting in a misleading narrative about the airworthiness of the recently crashed Eastwind Aviation helicopter.
