Plane Landed Safely Before Runway Overrun, Says Enugu Air CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Enugu Air, Tolu Ita, has attributed the airline’s runway excursion in Benin to circumstances that are still under investigation, saying the aircraft landed normally but failed to stop before overrunning the runway.

Speaking during an interview on TVC News’ News at 10 on Saturday, July 25, Ita said preliminary findings from the airline’s internal review showed the flight had a routine landing before the incident occurred.

“From my perspective, from our internal investigation, what happened is, it was a normal flight that landed on the runway and deployed brakes, but the plane didn’t stop,” she said.

She explained that the aircraft subsequently “ended up exiting the whole runway and ended up in the bush.”

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Ita commended the airline’s crew for carrying out a successful emergency evacuation, noting that all safety procedures were followed.

“We have a very seasoned and trained staff. After the incident, they carried out a normal emergency evacuation. They had to use emergency slides to come out of the aircraft because there are no steps, but this is something they did impromptu because they’re always prepared,” she said.

The Enugu Air CEO said the airline was fully cooperating with aviation regulators investigating the incident, stressing that no official conclusion could be reached until the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) completed its probe.

“As we’re speaking, we’ve cooperated with all regulatory agencies. Our engineers are currently in Benin cooperating with the NSIB to try and get the popular ‘black box’,” Ita said.

According to her, the flight recorder will provide investigators with crucial information about the aircraft’s operations before the runway excursion.

“The black box will record the whole profile of the aircraft, including the voice and parameters that are present. Until that is done by the NSIB, we can’t make any official report,” she added.