Crashed chopper in Lagos had no black box, but trackers detected it minutes before

Fresh facts have emerged of how the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) got alert of the distress of the ill-fated Quorum Aviation Helicopter minutes before it crashed in between two buildings at No. 16 Salvation Road Opebi in Lagos.

The helicopter, Bel 206 with registration number 5N-BQW crashed into an open space of a four- and one-storey building with all the three occupants reportedly dead.

They were all crew of the chopper comprising two pilots and an engineer.

A combined team of emergency officials comprising the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the Lagos Fire and security agencies battled to rescue the victims and evacuate the wreckage.

Also, Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has commenced investigation to ascertain the cause of the crash.

But Daily Trust learnt that few minutes before the crash, NEMA got alert of the impending danger through the help of its COSPAS-SARSAT equipment.

COSPAS-SARSAT is a search and rescue satellite-aided tracking which monitors any facilities in distress. Nigeria acquired the COSPAS-SARSAT equipment as far back as 2004 which has been upgraded to meet the emerging technological advances.

Sarsat is an acronym for Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking while Cospas is an acronym for the Russian words “Cosmicheskaya Sistyema Poiska Avariynich Sudov,” which mean “Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress.”

There is also an International Cospas-Sarsat Programme which is an intergovernmental cooperative of 43 countries and agencies, which maintains a network of satellites and ground facilities to receive distress signals from 406-MHz beacons and route the alerts to the proper authorities in more than 200 countries and territories.

Daily Trust learnt that the COSPAS-SARSAT emitted distress signal on the chopper and NEMA immediately alerted all relevant agencies on the crash.

NEMA Lagos Territorial coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye in a chat with Daily Trust confirmed that based on the information from the satellite tracking device, the agency contacted the control tower which confirmed loss of contact and asked for immediate response by the appropriate agencies.

Meanwhile, the AIB has confirmed that the chopper does not have the flight recorders otherwise known as black box.

Spokesman of the bureau, Tunji Oketunbi in a chat with our correspondent said the bureau would rely on the wreckage and the information provided by eyewitnesses to conduct its investigation.