Barely 36 hours after aplane crashed in Lagos, killing 13 persons, tragedy was averted, on Friday night, in Sokoto, after an aircraftwith 494 intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and 18 crew members on board, lost two tyres while landing.
The technical crew of Kabo Air plane saved the day asit confronted the emergency and taxied to a halt. The flight, which originated from Kano, was said to be at the Abubakar Sadiq III International Airport, Sokoto, to pick some high profile passengers before heading to Saudi Arabia.
The incident happened just asa Benin-City bound aircraft could not land and had to return to Abuja.
The plane reportedly stayed in the air for two hoursfor the 30-minute Abuja-Benin flightand then returned to Abuja.
Heavy rainsin Benin-City were blamed for the inability of the pilot to land the plane at the Edo State capital.
The Sokoto incident was said to have thrown the plane passengers, airport workers and security agents into panic. One source said the tyres were hit by asharp object on the runway asthe plane touched down.
The Kabo plane wasimmediately ground atthe airport by regulatory agencies pending investigation and determination of what caused the tyre blowout.
Meanwhile, the management of Kabo Air, yesterday, dismissed the claim that “its aircraft made an emergency landingin Kano”, addingthat “what happened wasthatour aircraft lost its two rear tyres while landing in Sokoto”.
The Corporate Affair Manager , Kabo Air, Aminu Hamza, who described as “laughable an online report that depicts an air mishap, said: “How can an aircraft that wasairborne lose its tyres?” According to him, itwas a ridiculous and mischievous newspeddled by unpatriotic elements to paint the aviation industry blac.
Narrating the incident, Hamza said, “About 494 passengers were on board during the incident, and it was a tripartite journeythattook off from Kano en-route Sokoto to Jeddah. We are happy to announce that none of them was injured”.
The Corporate Affairs Manager disclosed that “ we have since sent a rescue aircraft from our fleet to convey the passengers to their destination, adding that “from reports at our disposal, everything isgoing on as planned”.
Shedding more light on the landing mishap, the Director of Flight Operations of Kabo Air, Mr. Joseph Machimu, noted that “the aircraft just returned from maintenance in Malaysia”. According to him, the aircraft air worthiness isnot in question.
Machimu explained: “We were not surprised by the noise the landing mishap generated because those who are close to the industry know clearly that tyre burst at the point of landing is a normal incident.” The Director stated that “ the pilot who was fully conscious of the mishap took full control , taxied it and parked the aircraftto pave the way for evacuation”.
Reacting to the incident, yesterday, Mr. Joe Obi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Aviation, stated thatthe plane only had a stop over at the airport to pick additional passengers. However, he admitted that the aircraft landed with deflated tyresand damaged parts of the instruments landing system (ILS) at the runway.
Obi’s statement reads: “On October 4, 2013, a Boeing 747-3 aircraft with Reg 5N-JRM, operated by Kabo Airlines arrived safely with all passengers and crew on board, following a landing incident at the Sokoto airport at 2100 GMT.
”The aircraft, which departed from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, was enroute Saudi Arabia when it had a stop-over at the Sokoto airport for passenger pick-up. Preliminary reports indicate that the control tower gave the pilot clearance to land on Runway 08 butthe captain opted to use Runway 26, for reasons yet to be ascertained. The 512 souls on board, made of 494 passengers and 18crew members, landed safely. The aircraft, however, damaged some Instruments Landing System (ILS) and came to a stop with deflated tyres. The FAAN emergency response apparatus acted swiftly to secure all soulson board and the aircraft.
“The airline has since made arrangementsfor another aircraft to pick the passengers to complete their journey to Saudi Arabia.”
Bad weather
Meanwhile, the Abuja-Benin flight that could not land caused anxious moments.
After about 30-minutes into the flight and the plane unable to land, passengers were said to have been held in frightful suspense.
The pilot, it was learnt, explained to the passengersthat he was unable to land the plane due to heavyrainfall in Benin which caused poor visibility as well aswaterlogged and slippery runway.
The scenario allegedlycaused uneasy calm and panic in the aircraft which hovered in the Benin airspace for about 45minutes, as people silently and openly prayed to God and sang spiritual songs.
The fright that gripped the passengers in the plane was not helped by the fact that the newspapers most of them had were awash with reports and pictures of the plane crash involving the corpse of the late former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu, the previous day.
An attempt to land the plane at nearby Esubi Airstrip, Warri proved abortive too, followingwhich the pilot allegedlyinformed the passengersthathe could not lose more aviation fuel trying to land the plane, and then opted to flyback to Abuja, adecision the passengers applauded.
On return, Abuja wassaid to have had rainstorm too but with a well-lit runwaythatwas not waterlogged. The plane landed successfullyto the relief of the passengers.
A good number of the passengers were said to have opted for a refund which the airline obliged, while others resolved to still travel with the flight rescheduled for 9: 30am yesterday.
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The technical crew of Kabo Air plane saved the day asit confronted the emergency and taxied to a halt. The flight, which originated from Kano, was said to be at the Abubakar Sadiq III International Airport, Sokoto, to pick some high profile passengers before heading to Saudi Arabia.
The incident happened just asa Benin-City bound aircraft could not land and had to return to Abuja.
The plane reportedly stayed in the air for two hoursfor the 30-minute Abuja-Benin flightand then returned to Abuja.
Heavy rainsin Benin-City were blamed for the inability of the pilot to land the plane at the Edo State capital.
The Sokoto incident was said to have thrown the plane passengers, airport workers and security agents into panic. One source said the tyres were hit by asharp object on the runway asthe plane touched down.
The Kabo plane wasimmediately ground atthe airport by regulatory agencies pending investigation and determination of what caused the tyre blowout.
Meanwhile, the management of Kabo Air, yesterday, dismissed the claim that “its aircraft made an emergency landingin Kano”, addingthat “what happened wasthatour aircraft lost its two rear tyres while landing in Sokoto”.
The Corporate Affair Manager , Kabo Air, Aminu Hamza, who described as “laughable an online report that depicts an air mishap, said: “How can an aircraft that wasairborne lose its tyres?” According to him, itwas a ridiculous and mischievous newspeddled by unpatriotic elements to paint the aviation industry blac.
Narrating the incident, Hamza said, “About 494 passengers were on board during the incident, and it was a tripartite journeythattook off from Kano en-route Sokoto to Jeddah. We are happy to announce that none of them was injured”.
The Corporate Affairs Manager disclosed that “ we have since sent a rescue aircraft from our fleet to convey the passengers to their destination, adding that “from reports at our disposal, everything isgoing on as planned”.
Shedding more light on the landing mishap, the Director of Flight Operations of Kabo Air, Mr. Joseph Machimu, noted that “the aircraft just returned from maintenance in Malaysia”. According to him, the aircraft air worthiness isnot in question.
Machimu explained: “We were not surprised by the noise the landing mishap generated because those who are close to the industry know clearly that tyre burst at the point of landing is a normal incident.” The Director stated that “ the pilot who was fully conscious of the mishap took full control , taxied it and parked the aircraftto pave the way for evacuation”.
Reacting to the incident, yesterday, Mr. Joe Obi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Aviation, stated thatthe plane only had a stop over at the airport to pick additional passengers. However, he admitted that the aircraft landed with deflated tyresand damaged parts of the instruments landing system (ILS) at the runway.
Obi’s statement reads: “On October 4, 2013, a Boeing 747-3 aircraft with Reg 5N-JRM, operated by Kabo Airlines arrived safely with all passengers and crew on board, following a landing incident at the Sokoto airport at 2100 GMT.
”The aircraft, which departed from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, was enroute Saudi Arabia when it had a stop-over at the Sokoto airport for passenger pick-up. Preliminary reports indicate that the control tower gave the pilot clearance to land on Runway 08 butthe captain opted to use Runway 26, for reasons yet to be ascertained. The 512 souls on board, made of 494 passengers and 18crew members, landed safely. The aircraft, however, damaged some Instruments Landing System (ILS) and came to a stop with deflated tyres. The FAAN emergency response apparatus acted swiftly to secure all soulson board and the aircraft.
“The airline has since made arrangementsfor another aircraft to pick the passengers to complete their journey to Saudi Arabia.”
Bad weather
Meanwhile, the Abuja-Benin flight that could not land caused anxious moments.
After about 30-minutes into the flight and the plane unable to land, passengers were said to have been held in frightful suspense.
The pilot, it was learnt, explained to the passengersthat he was unable to land the plane due to heavyrainfall in Benin which caused poor visibility as well aswaterlogged and slippery runway.
The scenario allegedlycaused uneasy calm and panic in the aircraft which hovered in the Benin airspace for about 45minutes, as people silently and openly prayed to God and sang spiritual songs.
The fright that gripped the passengers in the plane was not helped by the fact that the newspapers most of them had were awash with reports and pictures of the plane crash involving the corpse of the late former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Agagu, the previous day.
An attempt to land the plane at nearby Esubi Airstrip, Warri proved abortive too, followingwhich the pilot allegedlyinformed the passengersthathe could not lose more aviation fuel trying to land the plane, and then opted to flyback to Abuja, adecision the passengers applauded.
On return, Abuja wassaid to have had rainstorm too but with a well-lit runwaythatwas not waterlogged. The plane landed successfullyto the relief of the passengers.
A good number of the passengers were said to have opted for a refund which the airline obliged, while others resolved to still travel with the flight rescheduled for 9: 30am yesterday.
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