Last moments of Bristow crash pilot — Friends

Close friends and family members of the late Nigerian pilot, 26-year-old Peter Bello are still coming to terms with the pilot’s untimely death in the Bristow helicopter crash in Lagos on August 12.

Captain Joseph “Jay” Wyatt of Oklahoma, United States, also died in the crash.

The helicopter, which was reported to have taken off from an oil rig station in Delta State for Lagos, plunged into the lagoon in the Oworonshoki area of the state, five minutes before the arrival time.

Both Bello, a First Officer with Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, and Wyatt were the two flight crew members on the ill-fated flight.

Of the 10 passengers and two crew members on board, the pilots and four passengers died, while six other passengers survived.

Twenty-four hours before that flight, Olamide ‘Deji’ Adedeji, a close friend to the late Bello, had recorded and posted a video on his Instagram account, in which Adedeji, who was holding the camera, could be seen with a smiling Bello.

Adedeji then complimented him on his looks, saying, “Shout out to my bro, man. Look at my oga pilot. Why are you shy? Are you still single?” To which Bello replied, still smiling, “I’m married,” flashing his lovely dentition and wedding ring to the camera.

About 24 hours after that video recording, Adedeji who described himself as a cyclist and a channel manager at Sound City/Access 24 TV, wrote on his Instagram, “Still can’t believe this. This was just 24 hours ago. No way Peter! This isn’t happening.”

Since the news of the helicopter crash broke, it has been a deluge of tears for family members, friends and acquaintances of the late Bello.

Some of Bello’s friends, like Adedeji, took to social media to pour out their grief.

Bello’s personal Instagram account, @pjkruel, could not be accessed due to its strict privacy settings.

However, from his other account, @photosbyPeterBello, he had quoted the famous lyrics from the hit song by Canadian singer-songwriter, Nelly Furtado.

Bello wrote: “In the words of Nelly Furtado, “I’m like a bird, I wanna fly away.” Easy as Lift, Drag and Thrust! Up, Up and away!”

Sadly, about 22 weeks after that post, Bello went on a flight he never returned from.

At the time of this report, details were still sketchy about the cause of the crash, which had yet to be ascertained by the authorities.

However, two days after the crash, the Accident Investigation Bureau said the black box of the ill-fated aircraft had been recovered.

The black box contains the Flight Data and the Cockpit Voice Recorders.

The management of the airline described both Bello and Wyatt as ‘experienced and qualified.’

In a statement released on Saturday, the company also expressed its appreciation to everyone who had helped in the response to the crash.

Bristow’s Regional Director, Africa, Duncan Moore, was quoted as saying, “We thank the traditional ruler and the local community at the accident site for their unwavering assistance, we thank the courageous divers who worked tirelessly in very difficult conditions, we thank NEMA.”