Govt suspends two pilots for flying aircraft with one engine

Posted by admin Headlines Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may have suspended two pilots of Arik Air, for flying a Boeing 737-700NG aircraft with one functional engine from Owerri to Lagos, at the weekend.

According to reports, the aircraft was flown to Lagos, where it had an emergency landing, after one of the engines had been damaged by birds.

The two pilots had their licences suspended by the aviation authority for security negligence, as they ought to have made an emergency landing at a nearby airport or return to base after the bird strike, which damaged one of the engines shortly after take-off.

“I can tell you authoritatively that NCAA has suspended the licences of the flight crew that flew that plane from Owerri to Lagos on Sunday. Their licences will remain suspended until investigation is concluded.

“The crew that flew that plane to Lagos later flew one of the airline’s plane to London that night for their United Kingdom operation. NCAA insisted that the crew (pilots) should not be allowed to fly the plane back to Nigeria. They have been summoned to NCAA headquarters,” said our authoritative source.

The sources revealed that NCAA had summoned Arik’s flight operations team led by the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Captain Ado Sanusi, to its headquarters for a series of questioning over the matter in the last three days.

The Arik Air’s Boeing 737-700 plane had made an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Sunday after suffering a bird strike en route Owerri. The aircraft, touched down safely with no injuries to the 69 passengers on board, according to a statement by the carrier.

The airline confirmed the incident in a press statement, where it said the pilot managed to fly the aircraft to Lagos, having shut down one of the plane’s engine damaged by the bird strike.

But the pilots’ decision had attracted criticism from industry experts, who said that their decision to fly the plane with only one engine from Owerri to Lagos put the 69 passengers’ in jeopardy.

The statement issued by Arik after the incident said: “Arik Air Boeing 737-700 New Generation aircraft operating flight W3 596 from Owerri to Lagos this morning had a bird strike on Engine 2 shortly after takeoff from Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri.

“This became apparent during the flight and necessitated the shutdown of Engine 2 by the flight commander who piloted the aircraft to Lagos and then declared an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja. The aircraft landed safely with no injury to the 69 passengers on board.”

The airline’s Managing Director, Mr. Chris Ndulue, however, praised the crew for displaying a high level of professionalism.

-Guardianwp_posts