...Or Was It?

NTSB investigators called in by the Nigerian government to help solve the mystery of Bellview Flight 210 have hit a significant snag in their search for a reason the B732 (below) went down: neither the cockpit video recorders or flight data recorders have been located, almost one month after the airliner went down in a village outside Lagos.

"We were not able to recover the black boxes -- flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder -- although we found some strips of the casing," said spokesman Angus Ozoka during a news conference at Lagos airport, according to media reports.

The NTSB has now called in the FBI to help figure out exactly what happened October 22nd when the aircraft went down in a storm about three minutes after take-off from Lagos, enroute to Abuja.

While looters were reported at the crash site, there's no indication where the flight recorders might have ended up -- further adding to the rampant speculation and intrigue surrounding the accident since nearly the moment it occured.

As has been extensively reported in Aero-News, allegations of sabotage have surrounded the accident -- despite mounting evidence a lightning strike may have been a factor in the mishap.

One day after the accident, a group calling itself COMA -- Coalition for Militant Action in the Nigerian Delta -- said it had blown up the airliner to call attention to the plight of those living on the delta.

Thirty-three people, who reportedly worked for the Nigerian president and the country's aviation ministry, have also been arrested on suspicion of being involved in a terrorist plot to bring the airliner down.

The investigation will continue in the US and Nigeria, said Ozoka.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov