Chinedu Eze and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
An aircraft in the fleet of Air Peace, which had a deflated tyre shortly after landing at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday has been evacuated
The development forced airline operators to cancel their operations on Friday and yesterday because no plane could land nor take-off from the runway of the airport until the burst tyre was replaced.
Reprieve, however, came the way of the airline operators and passengers yesterday when the Air Peace plane was evacuated from the runway of the airport.
THISDAY checks revealed that the plane was moved to the hanger of the Nigerian Air Force in the airport for further maintenance services.
“With this development, flight operations in and out of Ilorin can now commence in earnest,” an official of the airport who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent in an interview on Saturday in Ilorin.
He also denied speculation of plane crash in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, noting that there was no plane crash at Ilorin International Airport.
Arik Air and Overland airlines had on Friday cancelled their flight schedules from Abuja to Ilorin as well as Ilorin-Lagos.
The incident left many passengers who were waiting to board the Air Peace flight to Lagos at 11am on Friday stranded.
Most passengers, it was gathered resolved to travel by road why others returned home for fear of bad road network and insecurity.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had closed the runway of the Ilorin International Airport, following the tyre burst accident involving Air Peace flight, Boeing B737-500 with registration mark, 5N-BQR. The Air Peace aircraft landed and burst its tyre while taxiing to the terminal on Friday morning.
As a result of the airport closure, one of the passengers, Dr. Olu Agunloye, told THISDAY that the airline customers were stranded, even as at yesterday afternoon, with no flight in and out of the airport.
“Airline passengers (including me) are stranded in Ilorin, Kwara State because the runway has remained blocked since an Air Peace aircraft landed at Ilorin at 10am on Friday, 23 July and its hind tyre burst into shreds. The aircraft shook violently as it wobbled dangerously to a stop on the runway. Its passengers were safely evacuated later.
“The aircraft was still blocking the runway as at 1:00 pm Saturday 24 July effectively blocking Ilorin air passengers (including me) from the rest of the world for over 24 hours with no flights into or out of the airport. It is shameful that FAAN and Air Peace have not been able to clear the runway in over 27 hours,” Agunloye said.
But reacting to the incident, the Spokesman of Air Peace Airline, Mr. Stanley Olisa, confirmed the incident, explaining that the tyre had been fixed and the aircraft would soon be removed. He added that the flight from the airport was cancelled and the passengers were duly informed.
“I can confirm that the said aircraft had a minimal tyre burst while taxiing. It landed safely and passengers disembarked seamlessly. It is untrue to say the ‘aircraft shook violently as it wobbled dangerously’. This statement is a misrepresentation of what actually happened. This is deliberate exaggeration. The flight was cancelled and passengers were duly notified,” Olisa said.
In another statement, the airline also debunked a report purporting that its Ilorin-bound B737-500 aircraft, with registration number 5N-BQR from Abuja, was involved in a crash in Ilorin, yesterday.
“For the record, no such thing happened. The reports misrepresented and exaggerated the facts. We can confirm that the aircraft in question landed safely, but had a minimal tyre burst while taxiing.
“This debunks all the mischievously headlined reports circulating online, which should be disregarded. Our aircraft neither crashed nor crash-landed in Ilorin or in any place for that matter. This kind of sensationalism is bad and was intended to cause panic in the minds of the flying public.”
FAAN’s General Manager in charge of the airport, Mr. Tunde Ogini, told THISDAY that the incident happened on Friday but the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) was unable to remove the aircraft from the runway because it did not have the equipment at the airport to do so.
“The problem lies solely on SAHCO. The aircraft had burst tyre on Friday, but SAHCO did not have the equipment to remove the aircraft. They have been moving about since yesterday,” Ogini said.
But SAHCO Managing Director, Mr. Basil Agboarumi, said that it was the responsibility of FAAN to remove the aircraft, insisting that it ought to have the equipment at the airport and promised to contact his personnel in Ilorin to know how quickly they could remove the aircraft from the runway.
“When has it become the handling company’s duty to remove aircraft from the runway? It is the duty of FAAN because they are the ones, who are making money from the airport. What is needed is a pushback equipment, which is more than half a million Euros. As a handling company, we cannot acquire such equipment and deploy it to where it is not needed,” he told THISDAY.
In its reaction, Accident Investigation Bureau-Nigeria (AIB-N) also confirmed the incident.
“It happened yesterday (Friday). AIB Safety investigators did an evaluation of the occurrence and decided not to investigate. The aeroplane has been released to the operator (Air Peace).
The delay in opening the airport is down to the recovery of the aeroplane from the runway by FAAN and Air Peace. The aeroplane had a burst tyre on landing,” AIB-N said.
Foundation Raises Awareness on Sarcoma
A Non-Governmental Organisation, Muskuloskeletal Oncology Support Foundation, is holding an awareness walk on sarcoma cancer on Monday.
According to www.mayoclinic.org, sarcoma is a type of cancer that can occur in various parts of the body.
“Sarcoma is the general term for a broad group of cancers that begin in the bones and in the soft tissues,” the site stated.
The organisers of the walk, in a statement, said the awareness would be held on Monday in Lagos.
“The walk will start from the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos. There will be talks from Professors Suleiman Giwa, Samuel Eyeson and Dr Seyi Idowu.
“The event will be held between 8.30am and 10am on Monday,” the statement read.
