The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has barred the American pilot involved in the June 10 aviation incident at Asaba Airport from operating within Nigeria’s airspace and suspended the aircraft’s First Officer pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
The Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, disclosed this yesterday on the sidelines of the Airport Business Summit in Lagos, reports Daily Trust.
The aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A operated by VMO Aero Limited with American registration number N989BC, reportedly landed on an uncompleted roadway instead of the runway at Asaba Airport.
Najomo said the NCAA had taken immediate enforcement action after the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) concluded the safety investigation phase and transferred the regulatory aspect of the matter to the authority.
He said the pilot-in-command had been removed from flight operations in Nigeria and prohibited from flying within the country’s airspace, while the aircraft remained grounded with its Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) suspended.
Speaking on the development, Najomo said: “About the Asaba incident, well, the investigation is still ongoing. NSIB has handed the investigation to us, the CAA, and we are doing our own investigation.”
He explained that while the NSIB handled the initial safety investigation, the case had now entered the regulatory phase, which falls under the NCAA’s jurisdiction.
The NCAA boss also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had joined the investigation, underscoring the seriousness with which the authorities were treating the incident.
“As we speak, the aircraft is grounded, the PNCF is suspended, and the pilots are suspended from flying in this airspace until we come up with our own investigation. As a pilot for 45 years, I will not see a road and land on the road. So, we will look at the other motives too.
“So the DSS got involved and they are investigating until those investigations come out, it remains like that,” he said.
Najomo assured aviation stakeholders and the travelling public that the NCAA would conduct a thorough and transparent investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and impose appropriate regulatory sanctions where necessary.
Commenting on the Airport Business Summit, he described the gathering as a strategic platform for stakeholders to deliberate on key issues affecting Nigeria’s aviation industry.
The NSIB had last week released its preliminary report on the serious incident, revealing that the aircraft sustained damage to its left nose-wheel assembly after mistakenly landing on a road under construction instead of the runway at Asaba Airport.
According to the NSIB, the Bombardier Challenger, registered N989BC, was operating an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to Asaba Airport on June 10 with seven people on board, comprising four crew members and three passengers.
The bureau said the aircraft discontinued its initial approach to Runway 11, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second approach after Air Traffic Control approved the crew’s request for a right orbit.
