On 9th March 2020 at about 07:35 h, an Embraer EMB-135ER aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BSN owned and operated by Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited departed Lagos and arrived Port Harcourt Military base at about one hour later. The flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt was normal.
Evidence available to the Bureau showed that 5N-BSN started engine at 09:03 h and requested Flight Level 300. At 09:14 h, ATC cleared 5N-BSN to Lagos (DNMM) to operate via Flight plan route for Flight Level 180 (Request Level Change Enroute). Take-off clearance was given to 5N-BSN and to maintain runway heading until in contact with Port Harcourt International (DNPO) Approach.
At 09:19 h, 5N-BSN was airborne Port Harcourt Military (DNPM). There were 34 persons on board inclusive of 2 flight crew and 2 cabin crew with fuel endurance of 3 hours 20 minutes. The Captain was the Pilot Flying (PF) and the Co-pilot was the Pilot Monitoring (PM).
According to the flight crew, climbing through 300 feet after gear retraction, a loud bang was heard on the left side, aircraft yawed to the left, Engine-Indicating and Crew-Alerting System (EICAS) showed that the left engine had failed. The crew stated that the aircraft was put under control and climbed to a safe altitude of 1,500 ft. Thereafter, they completed the one engine out checklist. The Quick Reference Handbook was consulted for abnormal and emergency procedures.