NCAA Suspends Pilots Over Roadway Landing In Asaba

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the pilots involved in the recent Asaba roadway landing incident, pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation.

The director-general (DG) of the NCAA, Chris Najomo, disclosed the regulatory action on the sidelines of the airport business summit held in Lagos.

Najomo said the aircraft will remain grounded, with its permit to fly suspended until the investigation is concluded.

He said the regulatory investigation into the incident has been transferred to the NCAA, while the Department of State Services (DSS) has joined the ongoing probe.

“The investigation is still ongoing. The NSIB has handed the investigation to us, the NCAA, and we are doing our own investigation,” the NCAA DG said.

“As we speak, the aircraft is grounded, the PNCF is suspended, and the pilots are suspended from flying in this airspace until we come up with our own investigation.

“As a pilot with 45 years of experience, I will not see a road and land on it. We are also looking at other possible motives.

“The DSS has been involved and is carrying out its own investigation too. Until the report is released, it remains like that.”

On June 10, the NCAA grounded a privately operated aircraft and suspended the operator’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF) after it landed on a roadway in the Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba, Delta state.

The authority said preliminary information indicated that the aircraft later departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval.

The NCAA added that air traffic control was informed only after the aircraft had become airborne.

In response, VMO Aero said the incident occurred after the flight crew aborted an unstable approach into Asaba airport.

In a preliminary report released on July 9, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said the aircraft had been cleared to conduct an approach to runway 11 at Asaba airport, while ATC approved the crew’s request for a right orbit during the landing procedure.

The bureau said the aircraft executed a missed approach before making a second landing attempt, which ended with the jet landing on the roadway instead of the runway.

According to the NSIB, the commanding pilot and the second-in-command blamed the observer pilot, who was said to have identified the paved surface as the runway, after the flight captain enquired.