Nigeria to set up accident investigation laboratory

With many plane crashes yet to be conclusively investigated, Nigeria's aviation authorities Friday announced a plan to establish an accident investigation laboratory in the capital city of Abuja at a cost of US$5.5 million.

Chief Executive Officer of the country's Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Mukhtar Usman, announced the plan to journalists in the economic capital city of Lagos

''The bureau is very close to launching its own Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) laboratory from CAE/ FlightScape Incorporation of Canada, which will enable us to download both flight recorders promptly during investigation,'' he said.

Nigeria takes FDRs and CVRs recovered from accident scenes abroad for downloading because the country lacks the capacity to do so.

This is partly blamed for the failure to conclusively investigate the series of deadly air crashes in the country in the past decade.

Mr. Usman said the equipment for the set up of the laboratory have arrived in the country and that work would soon start to set them up.

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