American Captain Peter Waxtan was flying the Dana plane , he had copilot on board.

 

Captain Peter Waxtan was flying the Dana plane , he had copilot on board.

Air traffic controllers who prefer anonymity have disclosed  that the crashed airliner Dana aircraft most likely had one failed engine long before the pilot declared an emergency and the Pilot felt he could handle it. Many sources in there at the control tower indicated  that the pilot had requested to land on Murtala Muhammad Airport’s longer runway 18R before calling air controllers back a few minutes later to report a total emergency when both engines failed which was at 11 Nautical miles to the airport , he still managed to cover 7 nautical miles before the crash , in order words he was 4 Nautical miles to the run way. 

They also confirmed  that the MD 83 plane was overloaded with passengers and luggage to the extent that when the first engine failed, the pilots urgently reduced speed to enable the flight land safely on the longer and better runway, an action that led the flight to an extra 20 minutes delay before crashing at 3:43p.m.  It had been billed to land at 3:21p.m.

A former pilot for Miramar-based Spirit Airlines, Waxtan resumed work with Dana Air in March 2012,Oscar Wason, the airline’s director of operations said.

In all, Waxtan had flown Dana planes for 30 days and was off duty for 15 days, Pat Squires, a pilot who worked with him for 15 years told Sun Sentinel newspaper in the United States, adding that he was to return on Sunday (3 June), the same day the Dana flight 992 crashed in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, killing 152 people on board and at least 10 others on the ground.

Squire added that Waxtan was eager to return to the US and spend time with Lisa, his fiancée. The 55-year old pilot was to have arrived his Fort Lauderdale home on Wednesday (i.e. today, June 6), he said.

The American pilot worked at Spirit from 1997 to 2009 before his contract and that of Squires, his colleague, were terminated during union negotiations with the airline. “It was a political thing”,Squires said, which occurred during union negotiations with the airline. Both men then flew for Falcon Air Express, a Miami-based charter service. Last year they both departed Falcon. Waxtanlater joined Dana Air, where he worked 30 days on and 15 off, Squires said.

“Sunday was supposed to be his last day in the rotation in Nigeria”, he said.

Waxtan lived with Lisa, his fiancée, who through a friend declined to give her last name. “He spent as much time as he could get with her”, Squires said. “It’s just so devastating”, said a Coral Springs flight attendant who knew Waxtan.

The late Captain Waxtan

Flight 992 was few kilometers on its final approach to the Lagos airport whenWaxtan declared an emergency. The jetliner crashed into a two-storey railway building, hitting the ground tail first and exploding in flames.

Squires described his friend as a“consummate professional” at flying. “He was the best MD-80 captain I’ve ever seen”, said Squires.

Squires said crash photos showing Flight 992 on the ground with it nose up indicates Waxtanwas trying to keep it in the air right until the end.

“He did everything he could to save that aircraft”, Squires said. “In the end, if he knew it was going down, he did everything he could to minimize the amount of damage on the ground”. “If nothing else, his efforts were heroic”.

Squires said Waxtan was a former Army helicopter pilot who enjoyed hiking. About three weeks ago, the two men spoke. “He was very happy, he kept telling me, ‘We need captains, come on over“, Squires recalled.

“I’m still in shock,” said the friend, his voice breaking”. “God, I’m going to miss him”, the Sun Sentinel reported.

This statement was issued within hours after the crash

 by Special Adviser, Technical to Minister of Aviation, 

Mr. Victor Oche Elias  he revealed that the pilot of the

 ill-fated plane, had alerted the aviation authority of the 

airport, on the emergency situation 11 nautical miles to landing.
It was further disclosed that the pilot’s may-day cry was

 given priority, but the plane could not make it, as it crashed 

 4 nautical miles to landing.

From the point of  clearance to land  at 11 nautical miles  given to the pilot 

he completed  under the  distress of 2 failed engines

7 Nautical miles and had 4 Nautical miles  to go , but with both 

engines failed he could not make the rest.  Abuja to Lagos is 

typically an hour flight and this flight departed Abuja at about 2.25pm on Sunday afternoon . At the time of this struggle to land the plane at about 3.25 pm  the First Lady was still at the function at Lekki , again verifiable by attendees of that very NAMING CEREMONY AT REEDEMED CHURCH OF GOD, LEKKI