Posted by By UCHE USIM on
A bellview B737-200 aircraft with registration number F-GHXK heading to Abuja got stuck in the grassfield on the taxiway at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
A bellview B737-200 aircraft with registration number F-GHXK heading to Abuja got stuck in the grassfield on the taxiway at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The incident, occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, Daily Sun learnt, when the Bellview pilot tried to aviod an MD 83 aircraft that parked on the taxiway. The plane ended up in a ditch at the ramp.
According to an eyewitness account, the pilot was trying to get the plane out of the ditch when the landing gear sheared off. He also noted that the pilot wanted to make a 360 degrees turning to avoid colliding with the Afrijet plane, which made it to skid off the taxiway in the first instance.
Confirming the incident, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren said the incident was being investigated, adding that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to the pilot if found culpapble.
He noted that there were passengers on board when the incident occurred but added that there was no casualty.
'If we discover that the pilot performed unprofessionally, he'll be sanctioned. The aircraft nosewheel (front tyre) got stuck in the bush. He was trying to turn around the Afrijet airplane and the nosewheel gave up and the aircraft went into the bush."
The Corporate Affairs Manager of Afrijet Airlines, Mr Segun Soroye said the aircraft did not touch the company's MD83 that was parked on the taxiway, adding that the incident was unfortunate.
Also commenting on the development, the Public Relations Manager of Bellview Airlines, Mr Habib Mohammed said the aircraft did not touch the Afrijet plane, stressing that the Bellview pilot was trying his best to dodge the Afrijet's.