BEVERLY HILLS, May 18, (THEWILL) – Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu, has said that, the pilot of Aero Contractors Flight NIG382, which encountered a bird strike on take-off at the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), was in order by making a circuit and returning to base within eight minutes after take-off.
Commenting on the incident on Tuesday, Capt. Nuhu pointed out that the pilot acted professionally in returning to base after it encountered the bird strike.
Speaking further, Nuhu said that the aircraft, a Boeing 737-500 with the registration number 5N-BKR, was heading to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, before the incident on Monday afternoon
THE WILL gathered that the aircraft departed PHIA for Abuja with 91 persons onboard, including 85 passengers and six crew members at 2:06pm and returned to base at 2:14pm.
It was also learnt that no life was at risk because of the incident.
According to Capt Nuhu, the incident led to the damage of the aircraft’s blade, stressing that the airline’s engineers were currently fixing the damaged part of the aircraft.
Nuhu explained further, that Aero Contractors brought another aircraft to airlift the passengers to Abuja within 90 minutes of the incident, stressing that the damaged part of the aircraft was undergoing repairs in Port Harcourt.
He said: “Boeing 737-500 aircraft with the registration number: 5N-BKR belonging to Aero Contractors departed Port Harcourt to Abuja, but, during takeoff, it had a bird strike and the pilot continued the take-off, made a circuit and returned to land.
“That is what is supposed to be done. Pilots are trained for that. At the point he had the bird strike, he could not abort the takeoff. So, he continued with the takeoff and returned to base. They restarted the engine and discovered that some parts of the blades were damaged. Within 90 minutes, Aero Contractors came with a different aircraft to rescue the passengers.
“As we speak, maintenance is going on to fix the damaged blade and when they finish, NCAA inspectors will inspect it and certify it. If all the parameters -engines, blades and others- are okay, they will be released for flight.”
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
