- By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday said the accident involving a private jet carrying Governor of Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has come under investigation and reports will be made public when ready.
A statement by the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Musa Nuhu, said that the Minister, Mr. Festus Keyamo, received with concern reports of the aborted take-off of the Bombardier Global Express 605 jet operated by Pacific Energy Company Limited at the Lagos airport on September 4th 2023.
“The aircraft was carrying Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and his team on a scheduled flight to Abuja. Once alerted, the Honourable Minister contacted the Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and was briefed accordingly. A mandatory report was submitted on 6th September 2023 in accordance with Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations(Nig.CARS),” the statement explained
It went on to explain that the operator submitted the report through the new web based National Aviation Safety Reporting System, SMS Pro, deployed by NCAA in collaboration with Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) in compliance with the provisions of ICAO mandated State Safety Programme and the Civil Aviation Act 2022.
“A full blown investigation of the incident has since commenced. While expressing relief that the incident ended without any harm, the Honourable Minister assured that the outcome of NCAA’s investigation and recommendations will implemented in line with Nig. CARS and global best practices. NCAA assures the traveling public that it will double its efforts in collaboration with NSIB to maintain and improve upon the high safety aviation standards set in the country over the past decade. The Honourable Minister has on several occasions stated that safety of the aviation industry is the number one objective of his administration. Signed Captain Musa Nuhu Director General of Civil Aviation September 17, 2023.”
NPO Reported earlier that Adeleke had alleged that there was a foul play in the whole saga saying the reason given for the incident was not tenable.
In a statement by Olawale Rasheed, spokesman to the Governor, the claims by the owners of the hanger that the incident was caused by birds’ strike was untenable.
“Birds’ nests are made with straws, not bidding wires as in this case,” he said in the statement.
According to him, the near fatal incident was averted shortly after boarding and less than two minutes after the commencement of taxing on the tarmac.
“An early warning noise from the engines immediately prompted the pilots to direct the evacuation of the passengers. Everything happened within five minutes.