Follow Us on Google
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has said multiple safety deficiencies at the Oba Akenzua II Airport, Benin have been identified following the incident involving involving an Embraer ERJ 170-100LR aircraft, registration 5N-ENR, operated by Enugu Air Limited.
In a preliminary report released on Friday, the NSIB said the aircraft was operating scheduled passenger flight ENU4264 from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to Benin when it landed on Runway 05 and subsequently overran the runway, entering the unpaved area beyond the runway end.
It struck approach-lighting installations and two fixed concrete structures associated with the decommissioned localizer installation. The impact caused the landing-gear assemblies to break and separate from the aircraft.
All 63 passengers and five crew members evacuated safely without injury, while no post-impact fire was recorded.
The NSIB made four immediate safety recommendations to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
Part of the recommendations were for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to remove the fixed structures of a decommissioned localizer installation located at the end of Runway 05.
The Bureau also recommended that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure the control tower is positioned to provide an unrestricted view of all movement areas of the aerodrome, while FAAN was asked to provide a suitable control tower location for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to ensure unrestricted visibility of the movement areas.
Other News
For NiMet, the NSIB recommended the restoration and maintainence of the weather information display equipment provided for operational use at the Benin control tower and ensure that current meteorological information is reliably available to Air Traffic Services for timely dissemination to flight crews.
The preliminary findings also showed that weather conditions deteriorated during the aircraft’s arrival, with moderate rain and reduced visibility reported before landing.
According to the report, Air Traffic Control advised the crew that the approach path to Runway 23 appeared better than that to Runway 05. The crew acknowledged the information but continued with the RNAV approach to Runway 05.
ATC also informed the crew during the landing clearance that the runway surface was wet. However, the communication did not include a Runway Condition Report or Runway Condition Code.
The report further revealed that the aircraft’s autobrake system was not working and that the crew had stated during the approach briefing that manual braking would be used for landing.
Flight Data Recorder information showed a tailwind component during the final approach and landing.
