By Emmanuel Nduka
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) has said a retraction of the Nosewheel of Dana Air’s MD82 aircraft with registration number 5SN-BKI, caused the aircraft to crash-land at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria on Tuesday.
The aircraft which departed Abuja for Lagos with 83 passengers and six crew members onboard, crash-landed upon landing and veered off the runway at about 8.25am on Tuesday.
“Upon landing at MMIA, the Air Transport Controller [ATC] Tower observed at C4 that the Nosewheel had retracted and the nose of the aircraft collapsed and the aircraft veered off the runway info the grassy area,” a statement signed by Capt. Chris Najomo, Acting Director General of the NCAA stated.
Heritage Times HT reports that all passengers and crew disembarked and were evacuated safely, while Runway 18L was closed immediately.
The NCAA added that the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has commenced its investigation into the occurrence.
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“The NCAA reiterates its avowed commitment to a safe and secure aviation sector. In furtherance to this commitment, the Authority will be looking to implement the safety recommendations expected from the NSIB investigation while it carries out its own in-house safety assessment of the occurrence.
“The traveling public is hereby assured of NCAA’s unrelenting efforts in holding all operators and service providers in the sector to the highest international safety standards,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Management of Dana Air in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, said the ill-fated aircraft has been grounded for further investigation and repairs.
Last Deadly Air Crash Of Commercial Plane In Nigeria Was Dana’s
12 years ago, on June 3, 2012, a Dana Air Flight 0992 crashed while approaching the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria.
The aircraft, a 12-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registered in Nigeria as 5N-RAM, crashed into buildings killing all 153 passengers and crew, and six people on the site of the crash.
The ill-fated aircraft which suffered dual engine failure, was Nigeria’s worst aviation disaster since an Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines Boeing 707 that crashed in Kano in 1973, killing 176 passengers and crew.
The aircraft was piloted by 55-year-old American Captain Peter Waxtan and 34-year-old Indian First Officer Mahendra Singh Rathore.
