The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA has grounded a Rano-operated aircraft over an engine failure experienced mid-air.
NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, revealed in a post on his official X handle that the aircraft with registration number 5N-BZY experienced a failure on its engine 1.
A post by a x user, @emmaikumeh had earlier said “Something quite intriguing, or rather disturbing, happened today in Sokoto.
“One of the engines of a Rano Air aircraft en route from Kano to Sokoto caught fire mid-air.
“Thankfully, the pilot managed to land the plane safely in Sokoto using the other engine.
“However, shockingly, after just a few ‘touch-ups,’ the management of Rano Air cleared the same aircraft to fly passengers back to Kano. What kind of negligence is this?”
Reacting to the post, Achimugu posted: “The Rano aircraft 5N-BZY experienced a failure on its engine 1. Smoke was noticed in the cabin and flight deck. Oxygen masks were donned.
The appropriate safety protocols were initiated on the ground for landing. Smoke dissipated. The pilot safely landed the aircraft without incident.
“The NCAA Directorate of Airworthiness instructed that the aircraft 5N-BZY remain grounded until the conclusion of investigations.
“The rescue aircraft that was to airlift passengers out of Sokoto had already boarded Abuja-Katsina passengers.
“It would have created problems to deboard those passengers. The flight out of Sokoto was, therefore, cancelled.
“5N-BYZ is still on the ground with engineers working on it.”
Achimugu maintained that Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, prioritizes safety.
“The records are clear. More advanced countries have worse air incidents than Nigeria because, here, flights will get cancelled if there is the slightest safety concern”.
