The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has closed the 18L runway following the runway skidding at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday by Dana Airlines.
The NCAA also announced that the Nigerian Safety and Investigation Bureau has recovered the flight recorder of the Dana airplane, according to The Punch.
The Dana airplane with registration number 5N BKI, which came from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, had 83 passengers and crew on board when it ran off the Lagos airport runway while trying to land around 10:15 am.
The aircraft was stuck in a thicket close to the runway, with passengers and crew members unharmed.
To rescue the situation, emergency personnel were mobilized from the airport aerodrome’s Emergency Services and Firefighting services.
Unconfirmed reports said the plane veered off the runway shortly after landing and sank in the green field.
Passengers were secured and served refreshments.
According to the statement signed by the Acting Director General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, the agency said the NSIB had begun an investigation into the reason behind the unfortunate incident, on Tuesday.
In addition, the NCAA President noted that the nose wheel of the plane had been retracted, the aircraft’s nose collapsed and it turned off the runway into a green field.
He said “In accordance with statutory procedures, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has commenced its investigation into the occurrence.
“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 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.”
Meanwhile, the Head of Corporate Communications of the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa, in a statement signed earlier, issued an apology to the passengers over the unfortunate incident, noting that all e 83 passengers were safe.
“We are relieved to confirm that all 83 passengers and crew onboard the flight disembarked safely without injuries or scare as the crew handled the situation with utmost professionalism.
“We have also updated the AIB and NCAA on the incident and the aircraft involved has been grounded by our maintenance team for further investigation.
“We wish to thank the airport authorities, and our crew for their very swift response in ensuring the safe disembarkation of all passengers following the incident and our sincere apologies and appreciation to the passengers on the affected flight for their patience and understanding,” he said.
Furthermore, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, in her statement, stated that the Agency had started an investigation into this incident which would be completed within 30 days.
