On the day of the accident, the aircraft departed Abuja with the call Sign `SXC 401′ enroute Port Harcourt conveying 2 passengers on revenue basis. Before the commencement of the flight, the Chief Engineer was reported to have replaced the “Carbon brush” of the starboard starter generator. The source of this pair of carbon brushes is questionable. This flight was uneventful as the Passengers disembarked and the aircraft picked up fuel for the Port Harcourt- Calabar sector and to night stop at Calabar.
The aircraft departed Port Harcourt at 1750hrs UTC with five souls on board (alL crewmembers), estimating Calabar at 1827hrs UTC. At 1800 hrs UTC, the aircraft was in contact with Calabar Tower at 5,000ft, reporting 5 Souls-On-Board and an endurance of 3hrs 30minutes.
