Following an incident that occured at Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport Abuja when a Max Air plane had a burst Tyre on the runway leading to the shut down of Abuja airport for safety reasons, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has reopened the runway for normal flight operations.
A statement by Captain Nuhu Musa , director general NCAA says the airport operations were shutdown because Abuja has just one runway.
According to him ,the aircraft has been taxied away from the runway and the runway swept to clear debris.
“The damaged wheels of the aircraft were replaced and the aircraft taxied on its power from the runway to an assigned parking position. The runway was inspected and swept for damage and debris by officials of NCAA, FAAN and NAMA, after which the runway was declared safe. Subsequently, the airport was reopened for resumption of flight operations after 8pm”.
He faulted the reportage of the incident in the media which he described as sensational and capable of creating fear in the minds of passengers.
“It has come to the notice of NCAA of sensational media reports of the incident, classifying it as a crash landing thus creating panic and concerns amongst the traveling public. The media are urged to seek clarifications and or information as to make accurate reports of any situation”.
A Max Air flight NGL1649 a B737 aircraft with registration 5N-MBD departed Yola Sunday for Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja with 144 passengers and 6 flight crew on board. During landing at Abuja airport the aircraft lost some tires, the flight crew brought the aircraft to a safe stop on Runway 22 at 257pm local time. All persons on board were evacuated safely and the airport emergency services including the rescue and fire fighting services responded promptly.
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