The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) reported that at 10:05 am (local time) this Wednesday (12), a Boeing 737-400 (SF) belonging to Allied Air Cargo, registered as 5N-JRT, skidded off runway 22 of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja, veering into a muddy area within the perimeter.
According to initial reports, but subject to investigations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the landing gear of the Boeing 737 failed, and as the aircraft veered off the runway, the landing gear fully collapsed, leaving the fuselage tilted.
The five crew members were evacuated and underwent medical evaluations at Nigerian Air Force (NAF) medical unit 063.
The accident forced the closure of Abuja’s sole runway, causing cancellations and delays at Nigeria’s second most important airport.
Airport authorities are working to remove the damaged aircraft and inspect the runway for potential damage to resume regular flights.
This is not the first accident under similar circumstances involving the cargo airline. In 2012, Flight 111, operated by a Boeing 727 cargo aircraft, overran the runway at Accra (ACC), Ghana, breached the airport perimeter, and collided with a minibus, resulting in the instant deaths of all ten passengers aboard the vehicle.
The investigation concluded that the primary cause was pilot error during a manual landing under adverse conditions when an instrumental landing should have been executed. Additionally, the captain landed 4,000 feet beyond the runway threshold and failed to deploy the aerodynamic brakes.
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