By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A Sikorsky SK76c helicopter, registered as 5N-BQG, that recently crashed near Port Harcourt in Rivers State, was reportedly scrapped in 2018, according to investigations by SaharaReporters
The helicopter, owned by EastWind Aviation, was transporting contract workers to the FPSO—NUIMS ANTAN facility when it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
The tragedy occurred off the coast of Bonny Finima on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
The helicopter with manufacturer’s serial number (MSN) 760486 was manufactured in 1997.
Checks by SaharaReporters revealed that the helicopter was first delivered to Helikopter Service as SE-JFB. It was then bought by another aviation company in Hong Kong and registered as B-KCR. In 2004, the helicopter was bought by a Nigerian airline, Aero Contractors and registered as 5N-BGN.
In 2009, CHC Global Ops in Canada bought the chopper from Aero Contractors, registering it as C-FXXV. It was outsourced to Premiair, an aviation services and aircraft management operator based in Indonesia between June 2011 and July 2013.
The helicopter was then taken back by CHC Global Ops, a Canadian aviation company, maintaining the same registration number, C-FXXV.
According to Flickr, an online community founded in Canada, the chopper registration number was cancelled in September 2018 after it was “presumably scrapped.”
Scrapped helicopters refer to aircraft that have been permanently retired from service and deemed unusable. They are not expected to return to operational status and are typically sold for salvage or dismantled for parts.
How the Sikorsky SK76c helicopter was moved to Nigeria and registered as 5N-BQG before it crashed on Thursday could not be verified by SaharaReporters
On Sunday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) said that five persons were still missing, insisting that only three bodies had been recovered since the incident occurred on Thursday.