US embassy cable - 05ABUJA2070

UNCLAS ABUJA 002070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DOT FOR FAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, EAIR, ASEC, AEMR, AMGT, NI, BELLVIEW 
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE IN INVESTIGATING BELLVIEW 
CRASH 
 
Ref: Abuja 2039 
 
1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraph 3. 
 
2. (U) On October 25, 2005, post received the following 
letter from President Olusegun Obasanjo.  The text of the 
letter is as follows: 
 
Dear Ambassador: 
 
Re: Crash of Nigerian Bellview Airline 
 
On Saturday, 23rd October 2005, Bellview Airline Flight 210 
from Lagos to Abuja with 117 passengers on board crashed in 
Lisa, Ogun State, a few minutes after take-off. The plane 
was a Boeing 737-400. The last radio contact with the plane 
was 3 minutes after take-off. It crashed in the forest in 
Lisa 7 1/2 nautical miles, north-east of the airport and 
much of the plane disintegrated. The cause of the crash is 
not known. 
 
Given that we are not sure of the cause of the crash, and 
investigation may require additional sophisticated 
equipment, we would like to request that the United States 
FAA and Boeing Corporation assist us with the investigation. 
The Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, had 
earlier written in this regards.  We look forward to this 
cooperation. 
 
Let me end finally by sending my condolences to the families 
of the U.S citizens who lost their lives in the flight. It 
has been a shock and a national tragedy for us all. 
 
Yours Sincerely, 
Olusegun Obasanjo 
 
3. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST:  The NTSB/Boeing team is on the way 
and should arrive on October 27, 2005. In addition, post 
requests specific assistance with the recovery and 
identification of remains, given the urgent need to make a 
confirmed identification of the remains of Office of Defense 
Cooperation Chief Major Joseph Haydon. 
CAMPBELL