The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has sadly revealed that the black box, flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of a Sikorsky SK76 helicopter that crashed on Thursday, October 24, 2024 are still missing.
The helicopter, operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima off the coast of Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State.
The aircraft, which was flying from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt to the NNPC’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, had eight people on board—six passengers and two crew members. So far, five bodies have been recovered from the crash site.
NSIB on Saturday in a statement signed by its director of public affairs and family assistance, Bimbo Oladeji said that the search operations were temporarily suspended due to “loss of daylight.”
“As of 11:55 AM today (Saturday), divers began setting up and checking equipment to conduct an underwater search and recovery, followed by preliminary sweeping operations at 2:15 PM,” NSIB said.
“However, by 4:30 PM, diving activities were suspended due to the loss of daylight. Recovery operations are set to resume tomorrow (Sunday) at 9:00 AM local time.”
NSIB added that despite extensive search efforts, no wreckage or critical components—such as the black box, flight data recorder (FDR), or cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of the helicopter have yet been located due to the challenging conditions of the operating environment, limited visibility at depth, and human divers’ operational constraints.
The agency also disclosed that it is working to deploy a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped to operate at depths of up to 1,000 metres to enhance recovery efforts.
NSIB added that with its advanced cameras, sensors, and tether management system (TMS), the ROV will enable its team to conduct detailed surveys, collect environmental data, and capture critical evidence essential to understanding the cause of the incident.
“The ROV’s capacity for close inspections and light manipulation tasks will be invaluable in such deep-water environments, where it will aid in assessing wreckage conditions, gathering vital data, and developing insights into potential causes,” NSIB added.
“The NSIB is collaborating closely with an amalgamated team of search, rescue, and recovery units comprising various government agencies and private entities.”
NSIB, however, urges the public to avoid speculation, stating the importance of respecting the integrity of the recovery and investigation as they progress.
