The flight crew of a private aircraft are currently in the custody of security agencies and are assisting with investigations following a severe regulatory and security breach that occurred early Wednesday.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, confirmed this development on his verified X account, stating that the crew are being held to answer for their actions.
In the post, the Minister recounted the update he received relating to the flight, stating that he had received reports of the private aircraft that conducted a missed approach at approximately 07:43 AM local time on Wednesday while attempting to land at the Asaba airport and ended up landing on a concrete road still under construction in the Ogwashi-Uku area, near Asaba.
Eye witnesses at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road. The aircraft had four crew members on board and there were no injuries to them.
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Minister Keyamo further revealed that the aircraft subsequently departed the location at approximately 11:02 GMT and returned to Lagos without obtaining the requisite regulatory approval. He noted that Air Traffic Control was notified only after the aircraft had become airborne, meaning, the aircraft had no clearance to take off again.
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The Minister declared that the federal government views the incident as a serious breach of regulations and security, confirming that decisive actions have already been taken including grounding of the flight by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority pending the outcome of its investigation.
Keyamo added that the NCAA is actively coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
As a direct consequence of the breach, the NCAA has suspended the operator’s permit for Non-Commercial Flight. The regulatory body will also review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance, and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and will take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
