DANA Air to pay $30,000 to crash victims’ families next week

DANA Air yesterday said it would comply with the directive of the National Assembly Committee probing its June 3, 2012 crash by paying $30,000 to each family of the crash victims before July 3.
The declaration by DANA Air came just as it said the carrier had received more than 50 documentation forms from familiy members of the crash victims out of the 119 of the 120 families it had contacted.
Speaking yesterday at a memorial service for crew members of the crash that occurred  at Iju/Ishaga area of Agege in Lagos, on June 3, 2012, the spokesman of DANA Air, Mr Tony Usidamen, said the airline would not do anything less than what is statutorily required of it as far as compensation for crash victims is concerned.
Usidamen explained that DANA Air has full insurance cover for the aircraft, the passengers, the crew and third party liabilities, insisting that it had been in touch with families of crash victims to ensure that all processes related to insurance documentation were facilitated for compensation payment.
He said: “As at the close of business on Thursday June 28, 2012, DANA Air has received the completed insurance forms for 50 of the victims. To facilitate the completion of claims by the families, the company has established toll-free lines. DANA Air will continue to provide this service until all claims have been addressed and settled.”
The assurance by the airline came just as the National Cabin Crew Association of Nigeria (NACCAN) also called on DANA Air to ensure that the $150,000 due the four cabin flight attendants are paid to their families.
According to the spokesperson of the association, Austyn Njoku, doing that will be one of the ways of assuaging the pains of family members who lost their loved ones in the crash, which he said remains a huge loss to the association.
He noted that no amount of money would make up for the lives that were lost in the crash and called on the Federal Government to carry out out an overhaul of the aviation sector and ensure that airline operators maintain their aircraft as and when due.
Njoku further called on the Federal Government to ensure that old planes that may not have been properly maintained are banned from the Nigerian airspace.
He wondered why the Federal Government could not set a 10-year age limit for aircraft operating in the country, affirming that there is more assurance of safety with newer planes that are regularly maintained as opposed to old ones.
Speaking at a memorial service, he explained that government needs to put measures in place to ensure that operators have cheaper access to new planes, as is done in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) for Emirates Airline.