Four persons escaped death on Tuesday in a crash of a Cessna 172 light aircraft operated by Skypower Express near the approach area of Runway 17 at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri
The aircraft crashed on Tuesday evening after after the crew declared an in-flight emergency.
The aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-ASR, was initially en route from Kaduna International Airport to Port Harcourt International Airport before it diverted to Owerri due to the emergency.
The incident occurred at about 8pm local time led to immediate response from airport emergency services
While confirming the incident on Wednesday, The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) disclosed that there was no post-crash fire in the incident.
It also disclosed that the incident did not lead to disruption of flight operations at the airport other aircraft continued take-offs and landings after the incident.
The wreckage of the crashed Cesna aircraft
Mrs. Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the NSIB, said efforts were underway to recover the aircraft from the crash site for further investigation.
“Efforts are ongoing to recover the distressed aircraft from the crash site for a detailed wreckage examination,” she said.
In his reaction to the incident, NSIB Director-General, Alex Badeh Jr., expressed sympathy to the management of Skypower Express and relief over the absence of casualties.
“We express our deepest sympathies to the management of Skypower Express and are glad that no fatalities have been reported so far. Our team is coordinating with authorities to secure the site,” he said.
Recall that three crew members and eight passengers survived crash landing involving a Hawker 800XP aircraft marked 5N-ISBat the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday.
The aircraft, operated by Flybird Aircraft Management Services Limited, departed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for Kano on Sunday, approximately 09:20 am, crashed after its nose gear collapsed during landing
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, in a statement confirmed that all three crew members and eight persons on board disembarked safely
Oladeji stated, “During the approach phase into Kano, the flight crew reported a landing gear indication anomaly and requested multiple low passes over the runway to allow air traffic controllers to visually confirm the landing gear position. Kano Tower confirmed on each low pass that all three landing gears appeared fully extended.
“The aircraft was subsequently positioned for landing on Runway 06 and touched down at about 10:34 hours local time. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed. All eight persons on board disembarked safely, with no injuries reported.
“Upon notification, the NSIB activated its Go-Team. NSIB investigators will examine the aircraft systems, operational procedures, maintenance records, and crew actions to determine the circumstances that led to the occurrence.”
