Aborted flight: Aero pilot acted according to standard practices – NCAA
Adetokunbo Fakeye
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday said the pilot of the aborted Lagos-Abuja Aero Contractors flight acted according to Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
This was contained in a statement issued by the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr Fan Ndubuoke in Lagos in respect of an Aero Contractors plane, which made an air return to Lagos 30 minutes after taken off.
According to the statement, which confirmed that the said aircraft developed technical problem midway into the operation caused the air return, stated as follows: ”The NCAA has received the occurrence report and wishes to say the Pilot has acted according to Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
“All passengers were evacuated unhurt at the international wing of MMIA,Lagos, while the airline provided an alternative aircraft to ferry them to Abuja.
“Some of the passengers instead demanded for a refund of their fares while others were rescheduled for tomorrow morning”.
The statement added that, NCAA would promptly commence an inquiry into the incident and assured Nigerians that the Authority was very much committed to safety and security of passengers.
An Aero Contractors Airline Flight 180, which was carrying 141 passengers, Tuesday afternoon had to make an air return to Lagos less than 30 minutes after departure, when the pilot noticed the aircraft had developed technical problem midway.
