Deadly Nigerian Plane Crash

By Alexa Morales

Word Count: 510

As people live their normal lives in their safe homes in a little town in Nigeria, no one is expecting anything to go on. Seconds later, they are dead. What caused their death? A deadly plane crash.

The pilot of the Dana Air plane that crashed into a very populated city in Nigeria phoned that the plane was having issues just minutes before the crash took place. Taking many lives. The crash killed every 153 people in the aircraft and at least 10 people on ground. Rescue workers are working to uncover the bodies of those still missing as investigators track the flight data and investigate what brought the plane to the ground on Sunday. This incident took place in Lagos, Nigeria in Africa. The plane was just 11 miles away from the landing strip but it just couldn’t make it there in time. The death toll will most likely rise and they search the building that the plane crashed into.

The flight took off from the Nigerian capital of Abuja and crashed at 3:43. When it crashed, the nose was facing up which means the tail hit the ground first. On the flight, was said to be a few Americans and one of them, hovering over the body of her baby. Also aboard the flight were six Chinese citizens. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ordered an immediate investigation on the crash and declaring a three-day period of national mourning for victims. Police had to use batons and push their way through the crowds of people looking at the crash site. They also had to make way for rescue crews and ambulances. The aircraft that crashed was 22 years old and was purchased from Alaska Airlines. It underwent a routine maintenance checkup every 200 hours and was checked just three days earlier. Problems with the engine are said to have been the cause of the crash. The airline in Nigeria canceled all its flights on Monday with respect towards the victims of the crash.

The African countries deadliest crash was in 1991, when all 261 on the plane were killed. On Saturday, a Boeing 727 cargo plane overshot the runway and crashed into a passenger bus, killing 10 people aboard in Accra, Ghana. The airline also setup a 24 hotline number for those who knew any information about the deadly crash. Lagos, with a population of 7.9 million people, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

Investigators are taking pictures of slightly melted phones from the crash. They are also digging up passports from the ones who we lost. Many of the victims’ families and still not informed about the crash. Especially the families who don’t live in Africa.

I interviewed a couple of people who heard about the deadly crash. Melanie Harrell said “I feel sympathy for the families and their losses”. Delaney Van Andel said “If I knew somebody that was on that flight, I would be devastated to hear about them, especially because everybody died”.

The type of plane that crashed.

                                                                             

The plane crash.