Chinedu Eze
A Max Air aircraft, flight VM1645 yesterday made an emergency landing in Abuja after the pilot detected a fault.
The incident occurred a few days after a Dana Air aircraft made an emergency landing at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja.
The incident eventually earned Dana Air an indefinite suspension from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the grounds that the airline was no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and conduct safe flight operations.
In the incident that occurred yesterday, reports indicated that the Abuja to Lagos bound Boeing 737 MAX aircraft developed a fault midair, causing the plane to stop-start.
After attempts by the pilot to fire the plane failed, he announced that the aircraft would have to return to Abuja about 25 minutes after it left the Abuja airport.
A passenger in the flight confirmed the incident, noting that the plane eventually landed in Abuja and was forcefully brought to a stop on the ramp of the airport.
The plane, according to the passenger, had to be towed as it could not taxi back to the tarmac.
The passenger revealed that it took about 40 minutes for the fire service and towing service to arrive after some passengers said they saw smoke.
The passenger added that the plane was towed at a snail speed back to the tarmac.
NCAA and Accident Investigation Bureau-Nigeria (AIB-N) were yet to issue statement on the incident.
Likewise, on Tuesday, Dana Airlines made an emergency landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international Airport in Abuja. This year alone, the airline reported two incidents with its aircraft.
The management said 100 passengers on the Abuja-bound aircraft were “disembarked safely”.
“Our Abuja-bound Boeing 737 aircraft with the registration number (5N DNA) embarked on an emergency landing today 19th July 2022, due to an indication on one of its engines,” the statement had read.
In May, over 50 passengers were rescued when fire gutted the tyres of an aircraft operated by Dana Air in Port Harcourt. In 2012, the federal government also grounded Dana Air after its passenger plane carrying 153 people crashed in Lagos.
As a result of Tuesday’s incident, NCAA had suspended Dana Airlines’ air transport licence (ATL) and air operator certificate (AOC) indefinitely in a statement by its director-general, Musa Nuhu.
The authority said it suspended the operating licences after “discovering that the airline is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations”.
According to the NCAA, the suspension takes effect from midnight on Wednesday, July 20.
The statement said: “The suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b), and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (http://Nig.CARs), 2015.
“The decision is the outcome of a financial and economic health audit carried out on the airline by the authority, and the findings of an investigation conducted on the airline’s flight operations recently, which revealed that Dana Airlines is no longer in a position to meet its financial obligations and to conduct safe flight operations.
“The NCAA acknowledges the negative effect this preemptive decision will have on the Airline’s passengers and the travelling public and seeks their understanding, as the safety of flight operations takes priority over all other considerations.”
