A Nigeria plane crash left at least 14 dead on Thursday. The small plane carrying 20 people crashed right after takeoff from Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
According to CNN, Muhtar Usman, commissioner with the Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau, said that only six people survived the crash. The plane was an Associated Airlines Embraer 120 which was traveling to Akure, Nigeria, but it never made it as it crashed into open land near a tollgate shortly after taking off.
"The plane was making a lot of noise before it came down," Rasheed Olajide, an engineer at the airport, told Reuters.
There were 13 passengers and seven crew members on board the 30-seat flight. Among some of the passengers were relatives of the late former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu, who were accompanying his body on the flight, Nigerian state-run TV broadcaster NTA reported. According to CNN, Agagu was a former aviation minister in Nigeria. His casket has been recovered.
The plane burst into flames upon crashing at around 9 a.m. However the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were both recovered from the wreckage. The front of the plane was completely damaged, hinting that it might have crashed nose first. The wreckage is only 30 yards away from tanks that store aviation fuel.
A police official said that the pilot detected a problem right after takeoff and tried to turn around to land but he did not make it. Aviation officials suspect engine failure was involved but an investigation is ongoing.
Nigerian airlines and airports don't have the best record when it comes to safety. A Dana Air plane crashed into a Lagos apartment block in June 2012, killing 163 people.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
