The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has recommended new national safety protocols to govern the handling of aircraft involved in accidents and serious incidents, following its preliminary investigation into the private jet that landed on a road under construction near Asaba Airport.
The recommendations are contained in the bureau’s preliminary report on the June 10 incident involving a Challenger 601-3A aircraft, registration N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited and owned by Dunamis Church.
According to the report, the aircraft, which departed Lagos for Asaba with seven people on board, made two unsuccessful approach attempts before touching down on a roadway under construction instead of the intended runway at about 8:57 p.m.
The NSIB said the aircraft remained on the roadway for approximately two hours before departing directly from the site without undergoing a formal technical inspection.
“The occurrence highlights the need for nationally harmonised procedures governing post-occurrence aircraft management, inter-agency coordination, technical assessment and preservation of evidence following accidents and serious incidents,” the bureau said.
The investigation also exposed conflicting accounts over the emergency response.
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According to the report, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) informed investigators that the duty air traffic controller reported a rescue team arriving at the site at about 9:32 p.m., where the aircraft appeared undamaged and the passengers were no longer present.
However, the pilot-in-command and second-in-command told investigators that no airport rescue or emergency response personnel physically reached the aircraft before it departed the roadway.
Instead, the pilot said he personally examined the aircraft’s structure, landing gear, tyres and the roadway before concluding that it was safe to fly after observing no obvious damage.
The bureau also identified another operational concern, revealing that the Asaba Airport control tower’s voice-recording system was unserviceable throughout the incident.
As a result, investigators relied on reconstructed operational records from NAMA rather than verbatim audio recordings of communications between the aircraft and air traffic control.
“This investigation established that the aircraft landed on a roadway under construction instead of the intended runway, remained at the occurrence site for approximately two hours and subsequently departed directly from the roadway,” the NSIB said.
The report further disclosed that concerns had been raised before the aircraft departed Lagos.
An observer pilot onboard reportedly noticed discrepancies while the aircraft’s Flight Management System (FMS) was being programmed and drew the crew’s attention to them. According to the report, the pilot-in-command advised the observer not to interfere because he was not type-rated on the aircraft and was travelling only in an observational capacity.
Based on its preliminary findings, the NSIB issued three immediate safety recommendations.
It asked the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), in collaboration with NAMA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), to develop and implement national procedures governing the management of aircraft involved in accidents and serious incidents that come to rest outside designated runways, taxiways or manoeuvring areas.
The proposed procedures, the bureau said, should clearly define the conditions under which such aircraft may be moved and require an appropriate technical assessment by qualified personnel before any subsequent flight.
The NSIB also called on FAAN to strengthen aerodrome emergency response procedures to ensure aircraft involved in accidents or serious incidents within or around certified airports are attended to promptly by emergency and operational personnel.
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In addition, it urged NAMA to review the reliability and serviceability of voice-recording systems at controlled aerodromes across the country.
Although all seven occupants evacuated the aircraft safely without injury, a post-flight inspection conducted after the aircraft returned to Lagos identified damage to its left nose-wheel assembly.
The bureau said investigations are continuing and will further examine the aircraft’s navigation systems, VMO Aero’s crew resource management practices and the regulatory framework governing aircraft movement following accidents and serious incidents.
