Wole Shadare 
The Acting Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Chris Najomo has said the record of the details of the crashed S76C+Helicopter at the Bonny Finima last week was entirely different from the one described as ‘scrap’ by a section of the media, describing the entire narrative as false.
Najomo who spoke with New Telegraph on Wednesday morning said the media was free to get the details and history of the crashed helicopter from the agency before speculation that the aircraft was no longer fit for flying, adding that aircraft can be tracked not only by their registration marks but also by their Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN).
While the reported ‘scrap aircraft’ registration was given as 5N-BQG S76C+Helicopter with MSN as 760486, the crashed helicopter inside the Atlantic Ocean has its registration and record with the NCAA as 5N-BGNS76C+ Helicopter has its MSN as 760468.
Disclosing the history of the helicopter, he said the S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGNandMSN:760468 was initially registered at the age of seven on July 15th, 2004 with Aero Contractors as the operator and Capital Aviation Services B.V. as the registered owner.
The registration according to him was re-issued on December 13, 2006, when the ownership of the helicopter changed to RBS Aerospace Limited.
The S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGNandMSN: 760468 he further stated was de-registered by Aero Contractors on February 18 2009 to Transport Canada.
He said, “The S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BQGandMSN: 760486 was initially registered at 14 Years on Dec 10, 2012, with Nestoil Plc as the registered operator and owner.
“The registration was re-issued on July 13, 2021, as a result of a change of operator to OMNI-BLU Aviation LTD. and an ownership change to DANBA Associates Limited.
“A further amendment of the registration was done on May 30th 2022 when the ownership changed to Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited while maintaining Omni-Blu as the operator.”
Records show that the final amendment to the registration was on February 27 2024 when the operator of the S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BQG and MSN: 760486 was changed to Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited.
“By this action, Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services Limited became the registered operator and owner of the helicopter.
Najomo said, “Based on the following data from our records, it is clear that Sahara Reporters could not differentiate the records of the recently crashed Eastwind Aviation Logistics Services S76C+Helicopterwith registration mark 5N-BQG and MSN: 760486 and the Aero Contractors de-registered S76C+ Helicopter with registration marks 5N-BGN and MSN: 760468”.
