A B5 aircraft belonging to Xejet Airlines plane went off the runway at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, on Saturday. The aircraft went off the runway onto the grass edge during its landing at Runway 18L.
The E145 carrying 52 passengers and two crew members took off from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
“Fire and Rescue on the ground to help in evacuation of the passengers. At the moment Runway18L is closed to traffic,” a source said.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has confirmed the incident, saying its investigators had been deployed to the site.
“NSIB confirms that an aircraft belonging to XeJet Airline skidded off the runway at the domestic wing of Murtala Mohammed Airport this morning. A go team has been deployed to the site of the incident,” the bureau said.
The incident occurred three weeks ago when a Dana plane at the same Lagos airport went off the runway.
The airline’s activities were subsequently suspended by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which also issued an investigation order.
Meanwhile, REPORTERS AT LARGE earlier reported that following the suspension of its operation by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dana Air has disengaged some members of staff.
It was gathered that the decision to disengage staff was a temporary decision by the airline pending the conclusion of the NCAA’s current audit of the airline after an incident involving one of the aircraft in the fleet of the carrier.
Head, Corporate Communications of the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa, who confirmed the disengagement of the staff in a statement, however, stated that the airline is cooperating with the regulatory authorities in the ongoing operational audit.
