Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed what led to the private aircraft that landed on a construction road near Asaba International Airport last month, dismissing speculation that the incident was caused by mechanical failure.
Speaking during an interview on TVC on Wednesday, Keyamo explained that the aircraft mistakenly landed on a nearby road after its pilots reportedly misidentified the newly constructed surface as the airport’s runway.
According to the minister, the aircraft, a Bombardier Challenger CL-601 with registration number N989BC, had been cleared by the control tower to land at Asaba Airport before communication took an unexpected turn.
“The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. After about two minutes, the tower called and said, ‘Where is your location? I can’t see you again. I can’t see you on the tarmac,'” Keyamo said.
He explained that air traffic controllers were unable to locate the aircraft because it had landed on a construction road located close to the airport instead of the designated runway.
“They said they had landed, so the tower asked, ‘Landed where?’ They said they landed on a roadway that they saw. It happened that it was a construction site very close to the airport. They saw a beautiful road there that looked like a runway and landed there,” he added.
Keyamo stressed that the aircraft did not experience any technical or mechanical problems, noting that it was able to depart the site and continue its journey to Lagos after dropping off its passengers.
“There was no mechanical failure, and that was why they could take off again,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the unusual incident has now attracted the attention of security agencies and is no longer being treated as a routine aviation occurrence.
According to him, the Department of State Services (DSS) is investigating the circumstances surrounding the landing because of its potential national security implications.
“Those facts are before the Department of State Services (DSS). It has gone beyond aviation; it is now a security concern. Security agencies are looking into it, and there are reports they will first send to Mr President because it is a matter of national security,” Keyamo stated.
The incident occurred on June 10, prompting the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to suspend the Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) of the aircraft’s operator, VMO Aero Limited, while also placing the flight crew under investigation.
The NCAA had earlier disclosed that the aircraft departed the scene for Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory clearance, describing the action as a breach of aviation regulations.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) also launched an investigation, recovering the aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) to determine the sequence of events that led to the incident.
VMO Aero had previously stated that the crew aborted what it described as an unstable approach before the aircraft eventually landed on a roadway running parallel to the airport’s runway. The company maintained that no injuries or property damage were recorded and said it was cooperating fully with investigators.
During the interview, Keyamo also addressed concerns over the high cost of airline operations in Nigeria, revealing that President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a joint committee involving the Ministries of Aviation and Finance, tax authorities, and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to review taxes, levies and other charges affecting airlines.
He said the committee is expected to recommend measures aimed at reducing operational costs while ensuring the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s aviation sector.