The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has uncovered critical safety concerns involving the runway-end environment, control tower visibility and availability of meteorological information at Benin Airport following the July 23 Enugu Air runway overrun.
In its preliminary report released on Friday, NSIB issued immediate safety recommendations to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) to address the identified gaps.
The incident involved an Embraer ERJ 170-100LR aircraft, registration 5N-ENR, operated by Enugu Air Limited. The aircraft was operating scheduled passenger flight ENU4264 from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to Oba Akenzua II Airport, Benin, when it landed on Runway 05 and subsequently overran the runway.
Five crew members and 63 passengers were on board.
The aircraft left the paved runway and entered the unpaved area beyond the runway end, where it struck approach-lighting installations and two fixed concrete structures associated with a decommissioned localiser installation.
Despite the incident, all 68 occupants were safely evacuated using the aircraft’s emergency escape slide.
NSIB’s recommendations require the removal of the fixed structures of the decommissioned localiser installation at the end of Runway 05 and improvements to the control tower’s visibility of all movement areas at the aerodrome.
FAAN was also asked to provide NAMA with a suitable control tower location to ensure an unrestricted view of the airport’s movement areas, while NiMet was directed to restore and maintain the serviceability of weather information display equipment at the Benin control tower.
NSIB said the recommendations followed safety concerns identified from witness statements, flight recorder data, air traffic control communications and a preliminary inspection of the aircraft.
The investigation will continue with an assessment of the runway condition, including implementation of the Global Reporting Format (GRF) and Runway Condition Report (RCR), as well as the collection, dissemination and use of meteorological and runway-condition information.
Investigators will also examine the aircraft wreckage, landing gear collapse and separation mechanisms, ground marks, impact sequence and runway-end infrastructure.
The bureau said it would review the flight crew’s training, experience, operational decision-making and applicable Enugu Air procedures as part of the continuing investigation.
NSIB cautioned that the preliminary findings are subject to further review and analysis and may change as the investigation progresses.
The final report will contain the bureau’s conclusions and any additional safety recommendations arising from the completed investigation.
