Flights Suspended As Aircraft Blocks Abuja Airport Runway After Landing Incident

A major accident was averted on Sunday after a Boeing 737 aircraft with the registration number: 5N-BYQ belonging to Aero Contractors nose-stucked after landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

The serious incident occured at about 10:47am after the plane, which departed the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos in the morning, had landed at the Abuja Airport.

Consequently, the runway of the airport was closed pending the towing of the aircraft away to enable other aircraft to fly out and in of Abuja.

A statement by the director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, National Safety and Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Dr. James Odaudu, said that the aircraft on landing on the runway, had its nose wheel stuck in the grass verge with its fuselage on the runway.

He said that the incident led to the closure of the runway before the aircraft was toyed out of the runway.

He also said that there was no fatality to the passengers and crew members onboard as at the time of the serious incident.

Dr Odaudu further said that NSIB could be reached through [email protected] and NSIB_Nigeria on its social media platforms or its incident phone number.

He also appealed to the public to respect the privacy of the people on board and not assume the cause of the serious incident until formal report was released by the agency.

Part of the statement read: “The aircraft upon landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja from Lagos and in a bid to exit the runway via A4 had its nose wheel stuck in the grass verge with its fuselage on the runway.

“Consequently, the runway was closed pending the towing of the aircraft from the runway. There was no injury or fatality.”