The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) said Sunday it has concluded a technical audit of Air Peace Airlines and its fleet.
The audit, which comprised a thorough examination of the airline’s operational, technical and safety performance in the last twelve months according to NCAA spokesman, Sam Adurogboye provided the window for the regulator to scrutinise the books of the carrier in line with extant regulations.
According to Adurogboye, the audit was triggered by last week’s hard landing of one of Air Peace’s Boeing 737-300 aircraft at the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos where the airplane lost a tyre following the collapse of the nose wheel.
He said the NCAA shall ensure that at all times only airworthy aircraft are flown in the airspace.
The NCAA official said :” On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, about 10.28 am an Air Peace B737-300 aircraft with Registration Marks 5N- BQO had an incident on landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
“The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) is currently carrying out an Indepth investigation into the incident to determine the immediate and remote causes responsible for this particular incident as required by International Standards stipulated in ICAO Annex 13. The Authority awaits the conclusion and report of the AIB.
” In the meantime, the NCAA has just completed a thorough technical audit of the airline and its fleet of aircraft with a view to ensuring the airline is in compliance with extant Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) and to mitigate the reoccurrence of the incident.
“This technical audit was not limited to this recent incident. The airline operational, technical and safety performance in the last twelve months were also scrutinised.
“It revealed that all the operational aircraft on the fleet of Air Peace Limited are airworthy.
“This is to assure the flying public that all the aircraft on the fleet of NCAA authorised Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holders operating in Nigeria are airworthy.
“The Authority shall continue to ensure only airworthy aircraft are permitted to operate.”
At the weekend, Captain SimiSola Ajibola, who operated the Air Peace flight on July 23, debunked reports suggesting that the aircraft landed without tyres.
She said the incident, which took place at the international runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, happened after the aircraft touched down.
In an interview, Ajibola said : “We had a very serviceable aircraft. Our aircraft are machines that are well maintained.
“It wasn’t the first flight of that day. When we flew the aircraft it was perfectly in good shape.
“The report about initial landing without tyres is not true. The incident happened after we touched down. I didn’t go into the air without tyres, we weren’t on a decent without tyres.
“Some reports say we called for emergency while in the air and that is not true. It was after we landed we asked for emergency services. So whatever happened, happened on the runway that day.”
