The Federal Government has deployed investigators to the Ibadan Airport to unravel the circumstances that led to the crash-landing of a private jet on Friday.
A reliable and anonymous source in the aviation industry, not authorised to disclose details, confirmed this development to Saturday PUNCH.
The jet departed from Abuja to the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan and experienced a crash-landing around 11am on Friday.
The aircraft with registration number N580KR had missed the runway into the nearby bush.
There were no records of any fatality.
Saturday PUNCH gathered at 6pm that a team from the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau had been deployed to the airport to examine the situation.
However, when the General Manager, Public Affairs of NSIB, Tunji Oketumbi, was contacted, he said he could not immediately provide details of the incident.
“I don’t have the details at the moment, but once we have the details, we will communicate,” Oketumbi told Saturday PUNCH.
Another source familiar with the matter at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority told one of our correspondents that the details of the incident were still sketchy.
The source said, “The investigation team is in Ibadan to examine what caused the incident. We have yet to get the full details. I am waiting for the report from our officers. Some of the officers are still at the airport. Once we get the report, we will officially communicate the details.”
However, the spokesperson could not confirm the number of persons in the private jet.
Airline incidents in Nigeria have been a concern for many years, with numerous accidents and crashes.
On November 3, 2023, a private jet operated by Flint Aero and carrying the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, crash-landed near the Ibadan Airport in Oyo State.
The incident occurred at approximately 08:21 p.m. after the aircraft departed Abuja at 6:41 p.m. on the same day.
In a December 2023 report, the NSIB disclosed that the operators of the private jet involved in the Ibadan Airport crash, Flints Aero Services Ltd, lacked essential night flight experience.
According to the report, the flight crew was licensed and qualified for the flight, but the Captain had only accumulated 49 night flying hours.
“The aircraft had a valid Certificate of Airworthiness and was programmed for an RNAV approach using the autopilot, which was cleared by the ATC.
“The aircraft touched down in the grass verge on the extended centreline of the runway, about 220 meters from the threshold, and veered progressively right of centreline runway 22 on entering the paved area until a point 156 meters from the runway threshold, crossed the right runway shoulder and entered the grass verge.”
A source, however, told one of our correspondents that there were about 10 persons, including Very Important Personalities onboard.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that rescue officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria as well as firefighters were immediately on the ground at the scene of incident.
A spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Carol Adekotujo, who confirmed the incident, said there were no casualties.
“Yes, it happened. It was just a minor incident. The jet skidded off the runway. It was a private plane from Abuja. It landed safely but overshot the runway. There was no casualty,” she said.
