Let’s face it, Nigeria has a pretty dreadful reputation. It is internationally famous for email scams, gross political corruption and being a major energy producer yet facing regular blackouts in its cities. Standards in almost every area of life are low and it is no surprise that the country has a shocking record for aviation safety.
When most people read about the crash of the Dana MD83 at Lagos at the weekend, they probably just assumed it was another example of gung-ho Nigerian pilots ignoring the rules. The investigation will take time but this explanation is definitely not correct.
The Captain of the aircraft was an experienced American pilot and the First Officer was Indian.
Of course, it is perfectly possible that pilot error was to blame – American and Indian pilots can crash planes as well – but facts do have a way of wrecking convenient assumptions.