THE Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) 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 resulted in the aircraft touching down on the wrong surface.
The details were contained in a preliminary report released by the bureau on Friday on the June 10 incident involving a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A aircraft, registration number N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited.
According to the report, the aircraft was operating under Instrument Flight Rules from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to Asaba Airport.
The flight crew initially discontinued their first landing attempt, repositioned the aircraft, and carried out another approach to Runway 11, believing they were correctly aligned with the published RNAV approach procedure.
The NSIB stated that the crew reported their navigation instruments showed the aircraft was established on the approved Runway 11 approach.
However, the aircraft eventually landed on a nearby paved road under construction instead of the designated runway.
The bureau confirmed that there were seven people on board, including four crew members and three passengers, with no injuries recorded. After the aircraft came to a stop, it was shut down and inspected before the passengers safely disembarked.
The report further revealed that the aircraft later departed the construction roadway and flew back to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos without any additional operational issues.
A post-flight inspection, however, detected damage to the aircraft’s left nose-wheel assembly.
According to the NSIB, its preliminary findings were based on information obtained from the flight crew, witnesses, air traffic control records, operational documents, physical examination of the aircraft, and data recovered from both the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder.
The bureau noted that the flight recorders were retrieved and analysed at its Transport Safety Laboratory in Abuja, while technical examinations and further analysis are still ongoing.
The latest findings come weeks after the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, dismissed reports suggesting the aircraft suffered a mechanical fault.
Speaking on a television programme, the minister explained that the aircraft had been cleared to land at Asaba Airport before air traffic controllers lost visual contact with it.
According to Keyamo, the pilots later informed the control tower that they had landed on what they believed was a runway, only for it to be discovered that the aircraft had actually touched down on a construction road located close to the airport.
He also stated that the aircraft was able to take off again after dropping off its passengers, indicating there was no mechanical failure.
The minister added that the incident has become a security concern and is now being investigated by security agencies, with reports expected to be submitted to President Bola Tinubu.
The NSIB emphasised that investigations into the incident remain ongoing and stressed that the preliminary report only presents the facts established so far without assigning responsibility or determining the probable cause of the occurrence.
