Police ground helicopters over crash

Following the crash of a police helicopter in Jos, Plateau State on Wednesday, about six helicopters belonging to the Nigeria Police Force may be grounded for checks.

It was learnt that the move is to avoid a recurrence of the crash that claimed the lives of the Deputy Inspector-General (Operations), Mr. John Haruna, and three others in Wednesday’s crash.

Police sources told our correspondent that this would be done to ensure that other helicopters are safe and in good mechanical condition.

The planned grounding of the helicopters in the police fleet is a standard aviation practice all over the world whenever a crash occurs, according to findings by http://news-and-entertainment.blogspot.com

“The choppers will be grounded because that is the standard practice in civilised world and Nigeria is part of the global community,” a senior police pilot said on Thursday, adding that the cause of a crash might be mechanical or human error.

A number of helicopters owned by the police are allegedly unserviceable while the Federal Government had promised to purchase three more to increase the fleet in service.

A maintenance hangar for the police helicopter fleet was inaugurated at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in 2011 by the Police Affairs Ministry.

According to helicoptersafety.org, the bulk of chopper crashes are traceable to mishandled controls; heavy landing;  dynamic rollover; loss of control; tail rotor strike; drive-train failure; engine failure and wire strike.

Meanwhile, the crash of the helicopter into some building at Kabong area of Jos North has not only left some residents of the area, devastated, it has also left many of them homeless.

Mr. Waziri Mali, and his wife, Asabe, have their only abode destroyed with their property. She said the only succour available for them was for government to compensate them for the loss.

Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday,  Asabe said, “When the plane crashed nobody was in the house but my sister was around washing cloth in the compound. When she heard the sound of the plane crashing  she quickly ran out before it  landed on our house.”