Dana crash victims will be remembered annually – FG

 

The Federal Government has instituted an annual aviation safety programme in memory of the victims of the June 3, 2012 Dana Air crash.

 To mark the one year remembrance of the crash, which killed over 157 persons in Lagos, the Federal Government said it would unveil a cenotaph in their memory on Monday (today).

The aircraft, marked J9 992, took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and crashed at Iju Ishaga on the outskirts of Lagos.

 The Ministry of Aviation spokesperson, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said, “The safety week will be observed from June 3, 2013, and will be done every year in honour of those, who lost their lives in one of the most tragic accidents in the history of air transport in Nigeria.”

Dati said the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, would lead the church service for the ceremony, while the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah would be the chief host.

The ceremony, he said, would climax with the unveiling of the cenotaph.

He added that the safety week would start with the evaluation of the actions the ministry had taken to improve safety in the industry.

According to him, there has been the introduction of some safety critical equipment since the Dana Air crash.

Dati said the ministry had given safety and security priority in line with the Technical and Administrative Review Committee’s recommendations.

He said, “In the last one year, there has been improvement in communication, navigation and installation of modern surveillance equipment in all the airports in the country. There have been massive training and human capacity development of Air Traffic Controllers and other technical personnel of all the agencies in the aviation sector.”