NSIB releases fresh preliminary report on Dana Air incident

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has released the preliminary report on the incident involving an MD 82 aircraft belonging to Dana Air which skidded off the Lagos airport runway on April 23, 2024.

The report revealed how severe vibration accompanied by a loud noise from the NLG area of the aircraft was noticed and on reaching 80 knots, the Captain also observed the collapse of the NLG, followed by a loss of directional control.

According to the crew during the interrogation, the vibration was followed by a loss of directional control which made the aircraft to veer off to the left and exited the runway.

The report stated: “On the final approach to RWY 18L, the PF called for ‘GEAR DOWN’, and the PM selected landing gears “DOWN”. According to the first officer,”We got two green lights and one red light, the red being the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Indication.” The crew stated that they recycled the Landing Gears by selecting UP and then DOWN, but the NLG Indication Light remained RED. The crew then proceeded with the emergency gear extension checklist, but again, the NLG indication red light remained.

“At 09:23 h, DAN0352 informed Tower of its intention to execute a Go-Around. At 09:24 h, while executing the Go-Around, DAN0352 did a LOW PASS over the station and requested the Duty Air Traffic Controller (DATCO) to check if the NLG was down. The DATCO responded,

“It appears down. At 09:25 h, DAN0352 contacted Approach Control requesting to be vectored for another Approach. Approach Control then enquired about the reason for the Go-Around, to which the crew responded.

“We just had an indication here, so we just want to verify everything is okay, but at this moment, we look good, and we are going to try another Approach to RWY 18L.

“The crew stated in the post-occurrence interview that they consulted the MD82 Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) and carried out the QRH items.

“At 09:30 hrs, Approach Control cleared DAN0352 for an ILS Approach RWY 18L. At 09:33 h, DAN0352 contacted Tower, reporting 9 miles Touchdown RWY 18L, and was given weather information: DNMM 0800UTC; Wind 350o/05 kt runway 18L, cleared to land caution runway surface damp. As the crew selected the Landing Flap position, the Landing Gear Configuration Warning came ON and continued until the aircraft touched down.

“At about 09:38 h, DAN0352 touched down runway 18L. According to the Captain, the landing was soft. During the Landing Roll, the Captain deployed Speed Brakes, after which Thrust Reversers were deployed, and the nose of the aircraft was lowered.

“At this point, the crew stated that severe vibration was accompanied by a loud noise from the NLG area. On reaching 80 knots, the Captain noticed the collapse of the NLG, followed by a loss of directional control. The aircraft then veered off to the left and exited the runway at about 2,094 m from the threshold. It continued in the grass verge, crossed the paved Link 6 and stopped at about 2,343 m from the threshold, about 36 m from the runway centreline.

“Upon the final stop of the aircraft, the Captain shut down the engines and commanded evacuation through the Forward Service Door due to safety concerns on the Main Entry Door side.

“The cabin crew opened the forward service door and the escape slide was deployed. All occupants evacuated without any injury.

“At about 09:41 h, the Tower contacted Ground Control, which activated the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (ARFFS). According to the crew, as they evacuated, they sighted ARFFS vehicles already taking positions around the aircraft. The event occurred in daylight, and Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) prevailed.

At about 08:37 h, DAN0352 was airborne and climbed to FL300, its cruising level as cleared from DNAA.At about 09:20 hrs, after Descent Out of FL300, DAN0352 was handed over to Lagos Tower, reported its position as 13 miles on the Localizer runway (RWY) 18L and was instructed by the Tower to continue its Approach. The Crew stated that the flight from DNAA was routine until during Approach when DAN0352 was in contact with Tower and was cleared for ILS on RWY 18L.

“On the Final Approach to RWY 18L, the PF called for “GEAR DOWN”, and the PM selected landing gears “DOWN”.

According to the First Officer, “We got two green lights and one red light, the red being the Nose Landing Gear (NLG) Indication.”

The crew stated that they recycled the Landing Gears by selecting UP and then DOWN, but the NLG Indication Light remained RED. The crew then proceeded with the EMERGENCY GEAR EXTENSION Checklist, but again, the NLG indication RED Light remained.

“At 09:23 h, DAN0352 informed Tower of its intention to execute a Go-Around. At 09:24 h, while executing the Go-Around, DAN0352 did a LOW PASS over the station and requested the Duty Air Traffic Controller (DATCO) to check if the NLG was down. The DATCO responded,

“It appears down. At 09:25 h, DAN0352 contacted Approach Control requesting to be vectored for another Approach. Approach Control then enquired about the reason for the Go-Around, to which the crew responded, “We just had an indication here, so we just want to verify everything is okay, but at this moment, we look good, and we are going to try another Approach to RWY 18L.” The crew stated in the post-occurrence interview that they consulted the MD82 Quick Reference Handbook (QRH) and carried out the QRH items.

“At 09:30 h, Approach Control cleared DAN0352 for an ILS Approach RWY 18L. At 09:33 h, DAN0352 contacted Tower, reporting 9 miles Touchdown RWY 18L, and was given weather information: DNMM 0800UTC; Wind 350o/05 kt runway 18L, cleared to land caution runway surface damp. As the crew selected the Landing Flap position, the Landing Gear Configuration Warning came ON and continued until the aircraft touched down.”

The preliminary report, NSIB said provides details of initial facts, discussions, and findings surrounding the occurrence which also includes information gathered from witness accounts/statements, flight recorders, Air Traffic Control (ATC) recordings, weather reports, and preliminary inspection of the aircraft.