New Nigerian Air Force Bell 412EP inducted

One of two Bell 412EPs newly acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) was formally inducted into service at Ikeja, Lagos International Airport, on November 1, 2017.

The federal government had handed over NAF 600, along with a second example, to the NAF on January 27, 2017 after being stored for the previous two years.

Because of their lengthy period of storage, it had been necessary to restore them to airworthiness before they could enter operational service. This included major systems and surveillance cameras being sent to the US and Canada for overhaul and repairs, following which the NAF’s 631 Aircraft Maintenance Depot (ACMD) at Ikeja re-assembled the components. The second Bell 412EP is still undergoing reactivation at 631 ACMD, but work is well advanced and it should also enter service shortly.

The helicopters, built in 2012, comprise N462UB (c/n 36606) and N474NE (c/n 36608), which had been registered to Africair Inc of Miami, Florida. Their US registrations were cancelled on September 9, 2015 after having been ordered by Nigeria’s Rivers State Government for aerial monitoring and security surveillance services of oil and gas pipelines and other facilities in the state.

Their delivery was initially delayed due to failure to obtain clearance for import into Nigeria, leaving them languishing at an airport in the US. Eventually, they were airfreighted to Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport and stored at the facilities of Skyways Aviation Handling Company Ltd (SAHCOL) there. However, due to irregularities in their paperwork, they were detained by the authorities and, despite a series of letters from the Rivers State Government during 2015 appealing for their release, they remained in storage. Finally, on November 3, 2016 the Office of the National Security Advisorgave approval for the NAF to take custody of them and to operate them.Four days later, the Nigerian Customs Service officially seized them, then handed them over to the NAF.

Source: By Dave Allport / AirForces Monthly - January 2018

Photo: Bell 412EP NAF 600 comes in to land at Ikeja following a demonstration fl ight after its formal induction into service on November 1. (Photo by NAF)

Beacky Maya Mugambi
(KENYA / NIGERIA XAIRFORCES Editor)

New Nigerian Air Force Bell 412EP inducted

(23.01.2018)