Passengers stranded as Air Peace plane suffers tyre burst
Blame airline for negligence on safety checks
More facts emerged yesterday on how about 60 passengers onboard an Air Peace flight narrowly escaped death after their aircraft crashlanded in Ilorin. Many Ilorin-bound passengers from Lagos and Abuja were stranded over the weekend following the incident on Friday morning.
The Air Peace B737-500 aircraft, with registration number 5N-BQR, had a tyre burst on landing at the Ilorin International Airport around 10am.
However, passengers were safely evacuated while efforts were being made to remove the aircraft from the runway.
This resulted in the cancellation of the airline’s outbound flight to Lagos and all inbound flights to Ilorin due to the temporary closure of the runway.
According to an airport official who didn’t want his name in print, two of the back tyres of the plane burst when it was about to land, with about 60 passengers onboard.
“The pilot was, however, able to pull the plane to halt and no casually was recorded.
“When we got there to ensure safe evacuation of the passengers, there were three narratives trailing the incident technical fault and human error from flight operators and passengers,” he added.
Others also indicted the management for not giving priority to safety checks, the source said, adding that the situation caused serious panic and anxiety on Friday.
“Investigation was yet to be carried out to ascertain or established the veracity of the passengers’ allegation,” he added.
The situation caused serious disruption to flight schedules as Arik had to reschedule its passengers for Sunday, while only Overland Airways was checking in passengers at the time Daily Trust on Sunday visited around 4pm on Saturday
It was gathered that the Air Peace
plane was finally evacuated around past 3pm and the development escalated to Lagos for possible clearance and resumption of flight operations.
Another airport official, however, told our correspondent around past 6pm at the airport, the situation had been normalised with “the signals we received from Lagos.”
A passenger whose flight was initially scheduled for 5pm by Overland said they had received “a text message informing them that the flight was 8pm.”
Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that the situation caused panic among the passengers onboard.
During a visit to the airport, our correspondent learnt that the authorities were still waiting for signals from Lagos to open the airport, but Overland was checking in passengers. Arik had to reschedule its passengers for today.
One of the stranded passengers who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity decried the delay in the evacuation of the plane, saying it took more than 24 hours before the aircraft was evacuated.
It was learnt that one passenger who was to travel to the US yesterday had to go by road as the airport was shut.
The airport manager, Tayo Oginni, confirmed that the runway had been reopened.
Confirming the incident, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) said it was not investigating.
The spokesman of the AIB, Mr Tunji Oketunbi said, “It happened yesterday. 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 due to the recovery of the aeroplane from the runway by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Air Peace.
“We enjoin all media practitioners to verify every information before going to press.”
Air Peace also confirmed the report of the burst tyre and said there was nothing like a crash as reported by another medium, describing it as misleading.
In a statement, the airline said the incident was “misrepresented and exaggerated.”
“We can confirm that the aircraft in question landed safely but had a minimal tyre burst while taxing. 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.
“It was duly reported to the authorities and passengers disembarked seamlessly. The tyres have, however, been fixed and the aircraft is intact. We condemn sensational publication of falsehood.
“Air Peace is committed to providing peaceful connectivity across cities and relentlessly observes the highest standards of safety in its operations,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Saturday debunked report of plane crash in Ilorin, Kwara State.
According to the apex regulatory authority, there was no Air Peace aircraft involved in an accident.
General Manager, Public Relations of the NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye in a statement on Saturday night stated “categorically that there was no air accident in Nigeria involving Air Peace or any airlines.”
The statement read: “The attention of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been drawn to a sensational report making the rounds that a B737500 aircraft belonging to Air Peace with Registration Mark 5N-BQR was involved in a crash in Ilorin yesterday.
“As a matter of fact,the said aircraft which departed from Abuja successfully landed in Ilorin. It only experienced tyre burst in the course of taxiing.
“Meanwhile, all the 66 passengers and 6 crew members onboard were disembarked without any issues whatsoever on the same day being the 23rd of July, 2021.
“The Authority wishes to enjoin the travelling public to disregard such false and reckless presentation.