The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has disclosed that the private jet which mistakenly landed on a road under construction near Asaba Airport in Delta State had aborted its first landing attempt before making a second approach that ended on the wrong surface.
The Punch reported that the revelation is contained in the Bureau’s preliminary report released on Friday on the June 10 incident involving a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A aircraft, registered as N989BC and operated by VMO Aero Limited.
According to the report, the aircraft departed Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for Asaba Airport under Instrument Flight Rules.
Investigators said the flight crew discontinued their initial landing attempt, repositioned the aircraft, and made another approach to Runway 11, believing they were properly aligned with the published RNAV approach procedure.
“The flight crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation indications displayed the aircraft as established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach,” the report stated.
Despite the navigation indications, the aircraft touched down on a paved road under construction near the airport instead of the designated runway.
The NSIB said there were seven people on board the aircraft, including four crew members and three passengers, noting that no injuries were reported.
After the aircraft came to a halt, it was shut down and inspected before the passengers safely disembarked.
“The aircraft subsequently departed from the roadway and returned to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, without further reported operational abnormalities. A post-flight examination identified damage to the left nose-wheel assembly,” the report said.
The Bureau explained that its preliminary findings were based on information gathered from the flight crew, eyewitnesses, air traffic control records, operational documents, physical examination of the aircraft, and data recovered from the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder.
“The recorders were retrieved and downloaded at the Bureau’s Transport Safety Laboratory in Abuja. Technical examinations and further analysis remain ongoing,” the report added.
The latest findings come weeks after the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, dismissed claims that the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure.
Speaking on Politics Tonight, a TVC programme, Keyamo said the aircraft had been cleared to land at Asaba Airport before air traffic controllers lost sight of it.
He stated, “The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. After about two minutes, the tower called and said, ‘Where is your location? I can’t see you again. I can’t see you on the tarmac.’
“But they (the pilots) said they had landed, so the tower asked, ‘Landed where?’ I can see the whole of the runway and aprons, but you are not there.
“So, they said they landed on a roadway that they saw. It happened that it was a construction site very close to the airport. They saw a beautiful road there that looked like a runway and landed there.
“Before they (relevant agency) could go there and ask questions, they (pilots) took off to Lagos after dropping their passengers. There was no mechanical failure, and that was why they could take off again. However, those facts are before the Department of State Service, DSS. It has gone beyond aviation; it is now a security concern. Security agencies are looking into that, and there are reports they will first send it to Mr President because it is a matter of national security.”
The NSIB stressed that its investigation is still ongoing, adding that the preliminary report only outlines facts established so far and does not apportion blame or determine the probable cause of the incident.
