A female pilot’s courage that saved lives

We’re grateful to our crew, Nigerian response team, says Bristow
FIVE days after a Bristow helicopter ditched in the Atlantic Ocean, attention is now shifting to the heroic deed of Captain Abimbola Jayeola, the Nigerian lady pilot who saved the day.

Ms. Jayeola was in charge of the controlled water landing — near Lagos — of the Bristow chopper 5N-BQJ, an incident that could have recorded a second crash of Bristow chopper in barely six months. The first incident was a Sikosky S76 C+ helicopter crash in Oworonshoki on a Wednesday in August last year, killing at least six of the 12 passengers, including the pilot.

Thanks to Captain Jayeola, another ghastly ‘Wednesday incident’ (February 3, 2016), involving yet another Silkorsky chopper made by a United States’ manufacturer, was averted as the Nigerian female pilot ditched in the Atlantic Ocean, ‘steered out of trouble’ and saved the lives of other 12 people who were mostly Exxon Mobil staff.

A source close to Bristow Helicopters in Lagos confirmed that the manifest had been released to relevant authorities in Nigeria sequel to investigations, which in Nigeria often lasts several months before reaching concluding stages.

But the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) insist it is not time to release identities of the lucky survivors. Also from its U.S base yesterday, Bristow Group’s External Communications Manager, Julie King, told The Guardian, “We are not conducting interviews with the crew at this time. We recognize the tremendous efforts of our crew and the rest of our Nigeria team in their response to this event.

However, The Guardian reliably gathered from Bristow that the first officer in the chopper is a Nigerian national. Investigation revealed that Jayeola became the first female helicopter pilot in December 2014 and in a short space of time, has demonstrated her expertise, especially in emergency situations.

One of Jayeola’s close associates had anonymously taken to the social media, saying, “Let’s celebrate and thank God for our female Captain Abimbola Jayeola, who was the captain of the Bristow Chopper that ditched in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.

“A split second’s decision saved the lives of 13 people and several families linked to them. Kudos to you skipper, God will continue to protect you as you take to the skies daily,” the ‘blogger’ said.

A distress message was sent shortly after 10.00a.m. and the helicopter ditched in the Atlantic Ocean 20 minutes later. Ten minutes later, MV-DIJAMA, a vessel owned by L.A.T.C Marine Ltd, a Nigeria company, was alerted to the accident. It got to the scene at about 11.50a.m. and rescued all passengers.