by Hauwa Gambo
Stranger than fiction. But this news went viral via BlackBerries this morning:
This jst happened to Jahdiel, Nigerian Gospel artiste, few minutes ago..a wk after Dana Crash..wetin dey do naija airlines nah?
Imagine. I boarded an arik plane today for a program in ph, the plane was on for a while and we were all sweating profusely cos the ac was not on. I summoned a staff who attends my church asked him why..he said the second engine wasn’t working and dat the ac doesn’t work unless we take off. On hearing this we all disembarked the plane. Can u imagine they were trying to use a generator to start the engine. If arik planes can be faulty then no plane is safe to fly in nigeria.
Attempts to speak with the singer have not been successful as her phone is off, but her friend and fellow artiste, Nikki Laoye, confirmed the event. Repeated calls to the Arik Air spokesperson have not yet been returned.
However, aviation sources insist to us that this event is not a safety crisis – as the “generators’ which are actually Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) are used to power aircrafts on the ground. It is also said to be standard procedure on certain flights for Air Conditioning to be put on just before take-off as both aircraft engines come up.
UPDATE: We have contacted the singer via and she sent us this message:
After my refusal of flying with the flight today with arik air to ph flight no W3 519 with one engine, a new plane was provided for us..we could even smell the “newness” pardon my english..we were all calm and at ease. My fellow nigerians,the word “manage” is not our heritage. We deserve the best we will always get when we speak out with one voice. One people,great nation.
What the singer did was the best.Why did arik provide another aircraft if they were sure the first one was airworthy? who cares about the theory stated above?The a/c was not functioning and someone tells u it will work in the air after take off and u expect her to keep quiet?Do we have to manage another aircraft after the Dana crash?A woman was on TVC yesterday night and said she was a passanger on that same Dana aircraft a month before it crashed that it was raining and water was dripping into the aircraft in flight.she complaIned and the cabin crew begged her and gave her a double portion of food onboard.can u imagine?I give it to the singer.
Wowzer!!! Such ignorance displayed by the singer and so far by the people that have dropped comments on this thread. A plane can NEVER take off with one engine…it simply would not have the thrust needed to take to the skies with one engine. If it is in the air and one of the engine packs up, it must divert to the nearest airport and land immediately to prevent any mishap. What the singer saw was the airline's attempt to conserve fuel by powering the plane with APUs (Generators) while it is on the ground.
The engines are usually turned on shortly before the plane starts. That is not a situation peculiar to Nigeria. I wonder what the singer would have thought or done if she had noticed that the aircraft had to be towed from the apron to the runway by a tractor…she probably would have concluded that the plane's engines were been jump started…LOL
I sympathize with all those that lost their loved ones in Dana air crash. Also, let us try and prevent such occurrence again; Airline operators should be aware that one does not take life risk….we do that on business/career. The govt; minister of aviation and all other bodies should take note by making sure things are in good order. Let them focuss more on prevention than cure. US is a very good example; you hardly hear crash over there. Finally, No amount of money can surpass life all. THANKS.
Nigerians must demand for good service! How would Arik take off with one engine! In light of recent events! SMH
The same Arik Air left Lagos for London few months ago with boeing 747 that shouldn't have gone beyond West Coast.The regulatory agency-NCAA allowed it to fly 6hours.When a friend was telling me their experience on the ocean-how the aircraft was vibrating,l blamed him.I would personally disrupt the trip because l will never allow any aircraft below boeing 767 to fly me on long haul.We take things for granted as health and safety is zero in Nigeria.Money is all we bother about.What a country!
And this is the same arik air that supposedly has the newest fleet of aircrafts!!! Maintenance is really d problem of naija,not how old the aircrafts are!
I applaud u jahdiel!!!the sooner we start speaking out the better!We should fight the attitude ofbad customer service and the behaviour of service providers like they are doing us a favour!!The era of not talking is over!if its not right it is not Right!No patch patch again!!!
brave one there jahdiel. I hope this will be the attitudes of nigerians. I also comment the arik staff who spoke the truth at the risk of his job. I hope we get the message; manage is not one of our cultural values in nigeria.
It's about time someone stood up and said NO. Enough is Enough. Like a recent article said 'Politeness is what is killing us'. As we continue to Speak Up and Speak Out, I also smell the 'newness' of transformation. Selah