TheCable

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says it has commenced an investigation into the cause of the incident involving a ValueJet CRJ-900 bombardier aircraft that skidded of the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

On Wednesday, the aircraft, which had 62 passengers and five flight crew aboard, skidded off the runway at the Port Harcourt airport in Rivers state after landing on algae.

The NSIB, in a statement by James Odaudu, its director of public affairs and consumer protection, appealed to the public to avoid speculations about the likely causes of the incident and to respect the privacy of those that were aboard the plane.

“The Bureau has commenced the process of unravelling the immediate and remote causes of the incidence, with our Investigators already at the scene,” the statement reads.

“The aircraft, with 62 passengers and 5 crew upon landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport from Lagos overshot the runway at runway 03.

‘There was no injury or fatality, as all the passengers and crew members were safely evacuated and no damage to the aircraft was reported.”

In recent weeks, the Nigerian aviation sector has experienced two plane accidents.

On Sunday, an incident involving a Boeing 737 Jet with registration number 5N-BYQ owned by Aero Contractors Airlines, crash-landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport in Abuja.

Last week, a private HS25B aircraft operated by Flint Aero also crash-landed in Ibadan, Oyo state’s capital.