Two Arik Air planes were grounded by the
airline after they were involved in a ground collision on the tarmac of
the Lagos Airport.
The incident which occurred on Tuesday
afternoon at the General Aviation Terminal of the airport involved two
Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.
Mr. Ola Adebanji, Arik Air’s spokesman
said “Two of our aircraft, Boeing 737-800NG, were this (Tuesday)
afternoon involved in a wing-tip brush at the General Aviation Terminal
of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
“One of the aircraft, 5N-MJP, was
marshalled out of the ramp for a scheduled flight when its wing brushed
that of another aircraft, 5N-MJQ, parked on the ramp. There were no
incidences as the safety of passengers was not jeopardised. We have
grounded the two aircraft and are looking into the incident.”
Communications Manager for the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the agency responsible for monitoring
and regulating airline’s activities in the country, Mr. Sam Adurogboye
said, “It is an incident. Once there is a disruption in a flight
operation, which does not involve damage to the aircraft or fatalities,
then it is an incident”
“Once you operate an aircraft, there are
bound to be incidences and the regulation requires that they file the
report of any incidence with the NCAA immediately by telephone and
putting it in writing thereafter.
“So, they are bound to call us within
the hour. Our people will now be sent to ascertain the incident and if
it is something that is worth maintenance, we will ensure that after it
is done, we recertify the aircraft before they return to operation. That
is the regulation.”
