The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) disclosed in a preliminary report on Friday that a private jet carrying the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, that crash-landed at the Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan, in November 2023 breached the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations.
The report noted that the operator of the jet, Flints Aero Services Limited, acted beyond its approved permissions by carrying passengers despite a Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) from the NCAA that explicitly restricted such operations.
Furthermore, the NSIB stressed the need for Flints Aero Services Limited to adhere strictly to its given permit in accordance with Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations 2015. The bureau also urged the flight crew to have adequate experience in night-time flight operations.
The incident involving the Hawker 800XP aircraft led to substantial damage to the fuselage, landing gear, and flaps. Although no injuries were reported among the 10 individuals on board, the aircraft’s CVR and FDR (Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder) remained intact.
Additionally, another incident report by the NSIB involved a Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft owned by FLYFORVALUE Aviation Limited. The plane veered off the runway during landing at Port Harcourt Intl. Airport, with all 68 passengers safely disembarked.
The NSIB recommended strict adherence to airport operational hours, clearing of overgrown grass verges adjacent to runways, and ensuring compliance with flight limitations set by the NCAA.
The NSIB said, “The immediate recommendations are that NAMA should ensure that it strictly observes the airport operational hours as published in the relevant Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and not permit extensions beyond the airport limitations and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure that Flints Aero Services Limited operates within the limits of the approval given to it, in accordance with Section 18.2.4.3 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations 2015.
“Flints Aero Services Limited should ensure that its flight crew have sufficient experience in night-time flight operations and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should ensure that the overgrown grass verge on either side of runway 04/22 is immediately cleared.
“The serious incident involving a Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BXR owned and operated by FLYFORVALUE Aviation Limited at Port Harcourt Intl. Airport, Rivers State on 14th November 2023 is the second report released by the Bureau.
“The flight was a scheduled flight from Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos (DNMM) to Port Harcourt Intl. Airport, Rivers State (DNPO) on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan. On board were 68 persons inclusive of 5 crew; two cockpit, and three cabin crew with fuel endurance of 2 hours and 15 minutes.
“While on ground in Lagos, the flight crew received weather information for Port Harcourt reporting Visibility at 1500 meters, reducing to 600 meters in thunderstorms and rain. The decision was made to wait on ground in Lagos with passengers onboard until conditions became more suitable.
“At 14:15hours, FVJ0226 departed Lagos. The Pilot was the Pilot Flying (PF) while the copilot was the Pilot Monitoring (PM). The crew reported that take-off, climb, cruise, descent and approach phases were uneventful.
“During approach at about six NM to the station, the aircraft encountered light rain, which dissipated before reaching the final approach fix. Wipers were switched on. The crew discussed the weather and agreed that there was no threat to a safe operation. Approach and Descent checklists were completed.
“The initial findings of the flight indicated that the flight crew were licensed and qualified to conduct the flight and the aircraft had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness.
“After touchdown, the Pilot Monitoring called out 90 kt during landing roll while the Pilot Flying called for After Landing checklist and flaps retraction. The aircraft continued its roll till it veered off the runway into the grass verge adjacent Link A5. The ATC activated the crash alarm. Passengers disembarked without any injury
“The CVR and FDR were recovered in good condition and recordings were intact after the occurrence. Preliminary reports are not the final reports as they only contain details of the initial facts, discussions and findings surrounding the occurrences; which include information gathered from witness statements, flight recorders, Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Data, Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) data, and preliminary inspection of the accident sites and the wreckages.
“Therefore, investigations on these accidents are still ongoing and final reports will be released at the conclusions of the respective investigations.”
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