Engine Failure: NCAA Grounds Rano Air Aircraft
The Directorate of Airworthiness of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has instructed that an aircraft, 5N-BZY operated by Rano Air remain grounded until the conclusion of investigations, following the aircraft’s experience of a failure on its engine 1 yesterday.
According to Mr. Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, smoke was noticed in the cabin and flightdeck and oxygen masks were donned. The appropriate safety protocols were initiated on the ground for landing. Smoke dissipated and pilot safely landed the aircraft at 15:34 hours local time without incident.
The rescue aircraft that was to then airlift passengers out of Sokoto had already boarded Abuja-Katsina passengers. It would have created problems to de-board those passengers. The flight out of Sokoto was, therefore, cancelled and the aircraft, 5N-BYZ is still on the ground with engineers working on it.
The Nigeria 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 concern about safety.
