By Dickson Omobola
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has disclosed that the Bombardier Challenger 601-3A aircraft that landed on a road under construction in Asaba, Delta State, a few weeks ago aborted its initial approach to Asaba Airport and repositioned for a second approach to Runway 11 before the incident occurred.
On June 10, 2026, during an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, to Asaba Airport, Delta State, the aircraft, with nationality and registration marks N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited, landed on a road under construction near the airport.
NSIB, in its preliminary report released on Friday, said the flight crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation indications displayed the aircraft as established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
The report, which was signed by Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs Funke Adebayo-Arowojobe, also stated that the aircraft subsequently landed on a paved roadway under construction in the vicinity of Asaba Airport instead of the intended runway.
According to the report, “There were seven occupants on board, comprising four crew members and three passengers, and no injuries were recorded.”
Adebayo-Arowojobe said following the landing, the aircraft was shut down and inspected, while the passengers disembarked.
She stated: “The aircraft subsequently departed from the roadway and returned to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, without further reported operational abnormalities. A post-flight examination identified damage to the left nose-wheel assembly.
“The preliminary report provides information gathered during the early stages of the investigation, including information obtained from flight crew and witness accounts; operational and air traffic control records; post-occurrence examination of the aircraft; documents received; and the Cockpit Voice Recorder, CVR, and Flight Data Recorder, FDR. The recorders were retrieved and downloaded at the Bureau’s Transport Safety Laboratory in Abuja. Technical examinations and further analysis remain ongoing.”
Some days ago, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Mr Festus Keyamo, also disclosed that, contrary to popular belief, the jet did not suffer any mechanical failure but mistakenly landed on a road that the pilots mistook for a runway.
Keyamo explained that the aircraft had been cleared to land at Asaba Airport but failed to touch down on the designated runway, adding that the control tower lost visual contact with the aircraft shortly after issuing landing clearance and later discovered that it had landed on a nearby construction road, where it dropped passengers.
Speaking on Politics Tonight, a TVC programme, he said, “The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. After about two minutes, the tower called and said, ‘Where is your location? I can’t see you again. I can’t see you on the tarmac.’ As it is known, the tower is always elevated; thus, one can see the whole of the runway and the apron.
‘But they (the pilots) said they had landed, so the tower asked, “Landed where?” ‘I can see the whole of the runway and aprons, but you are not there. So, they said they landed on a roadway that they saw. It happened that it was a construction site very close to the airport. They saw a beautiful road there that looked like a runway and landed there.
“Before they (relevant agency) could go there and ask questions, they (pilots) took off to Lagos after dropping their passengers. There was no mechanical failure, and that was why they could take off again. However, those facts are before the Department of State Service, DSS. It has gone beyond aviation; it is now a security concern. Security agencies are looking into that, and there are reports they will first send it to Mr President because it is a matter of national security.”
