• NSIB begins investigation into incident
• Aircraft engineers seek review of licensing policies to prevent quacks

An Enugu Air aircraft operating a scheduled flight from the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, to Benin City, yesterday, skidded off the runway on landing at the airport.

The Guardian gathered that the incident involved an Embraer E170 aircraft with the registration 5N-ENR and 67 persons, comprising passengers and crewmembers onboard.

It was gathered that the aircraft landed at approximately 1:57 p.m. before veering off the runway.

The Guardian also learnt that there were no casualties or injuries among the persons on board.

The Enugu Air management confirmed the development in a statement.

The airline, however, said that the aircraft had been secured and the relevant aviation authorities had been notified in line with established procedures.

MEANWHILE, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has commenced an investigation into the incident.

A statement by the Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Funke Adebayo-Arowojobe, said that the aircraft was involved in a runway excursion after overrunning the end of Runway 05 during landing at approximately 15:10 hours local time.

According to the statement, there were 63 passengers and five crew members on board the aircraft as of the time of the incident.

She said that all passengers and crew members had been accounted for, and no injuries reported.

Adebayo-Arowojobe said that the NSIB’s Go Team had also been mobilised and on the ground at the site within minutes of notification, saying that this underscored the bureau’s commitment to a rapid and effective emergency response.

She added that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and relevant airport authorities had been notified of the incident, while the aircraft has been secured.

The statement also quoted the Director-General, NSIB, Alex Badeh (Jr) as saying that the bureau was relieved that all passengers and crew members were safe without any reported injuries.

Badeh, however, said that every runway excursion was a serious occurrence that deserved a thorough and independent investigation.

The management of Enugu Air has reacted to the incident, describing it as a “runway excursion.”

Reacting to the incident in a public announcement, the management confirmed the incident, and said that all “passengers and crewmembers have safely disembarked and there were no injuries or casualties.”

HOWEVER, the Society of Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers of Nigeria (SLAMEN) has called on the NCAA to conduct a comprehensive review of its aircraft maintenance engineer licensing policies.

The group warned that failure to do this might lead to dilution of professional standards in the industry.

The call was made, yesterday, during a courtesy visit by the President of SLAMEN, Muhammad Haladu and members of the National Executive Council (NEC) to the Director-General of NCAA, Chris Najomo, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

Haladu, who expressed concern over the perceived weakening of the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) licensing process in the industry, called on the NCAA to preserve the integrity of the profession by ensuring that only candidates with Higher National Diplomas (HND) or Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) degrees in aircraft maintenance, aeronautics or aerospace engineering are eligible for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Licence Preparatory Course (LPC) and NCAA licensing examinations.

He insisted that maintaining high qualification standards was critical to sustaining aviation safety and ensuring that Nigeria continued to produce competent aircraft maintenance engineers capable of meeting global industry requirements.

He also appealed to the NCAA to champion policies that would encourage the establishment and growth of world-class Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in Nigeria.