The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has grounded Rano Air’s Sokoto-to-Kano flight following an in-flight engine failure.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, on Monday.

According to Achimugu, the aircraft with registration 5N-BZY suffered an engine malfunction mid-flight but was safely landed by the pilot.

He stated that the Rano aircraft’s engine emitted smoke, triggering safety protocols. As a result, the NCAA grounded the aircraft pending a thorough investigation.

“The Rano aircraft 5N-BZY experienced a failure on its engine 1. Smoke was noticed in the cabin and flight deck. Oxygen masks were donned. The appropriate safety protocols were initiated on the ground for landing. Smoke dissipated. The pilot safely landed the aircraft without incident.

“The NCAA Directorate of Airworthiness instructed that the aircraft 5N-BZY remain grounded until the conclusion of investigations.”

“The rescue aircraft that was to airlift passengers out of Sokoto had already boarded Abuja-Katsina passengers. It would have created problems to deboard those passengers. The flight out of Sokoto was, therefore, cancelled.”

Achimugu said the aircraft remains grounded as engineers continue to work on it.

He emphasized that the NCAA prioritizes safety, noting that even minor concerns can lead to flight cancellations in Nigeria—unlike in some advanced countries with higher rates of air incidents.

Reporting the incident on X, Emeka Umeh described it as quite disturbing, stating that one of the aircraft’s engines caught fire mid-air.

“One of the engines of a Rano Air aircraft en route from Kano to Sokoto caught fire mid-air. Thankfully, the pilot managed to land the plane safely in Sokoto using the other engine,” Umeh wrote.

However, shockingly, after just a few touch-ups, the management of Rano Air cleared the same aircraft to fly passengers back to Kano. What kind of negligence is this?”

Umeh further alleged that Rano Air allowed the same aircraft to fly passengers back to Kano despite the recent engine issues.