How a Benin Airport Runway Flaw Nearly Turned Tragic: 68 Passengers Escape Unhurt

It was supposed to be a routine landing. But on July 23, an Enugu Air flight from Lagos to Benin came within seconds of a far worse ending.

The Embraer jet, flight ENU4264 with registration 5N-ENR, touched down on Runway 05 at Oba Akenzua II Airport with 63 passengers and 5 crew on board. Instead of stopping on the runway, the plane kept going. It ran off the paved surface, smashed into approach lights and two abandoned concrete structures, and finally came to a rest on bare ground.

Everyone walked away. Passengers and crew used the emergency slides to get out, and no one was injured. But what should have been just another incident report has now exposed deeper problems at the Benin airport.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau released its preliminary findings on Friday, and the picture is worrying. Investigators said the crash was not only about the aircraft. The airport itself made a bad situation more dangerous.

NSIB pointed to three key issues. First, old equipment from a decommissioned localiser was still sitting at the end of Runway 05, right where a plane should have clear space to stop. Second, the control tower does not have a clear view of all areas of the airport. Third, controllers in Benin did not have working weather information displays when the flight landed.

Because of those findings, the bureau issued four urgent safety recommendations. It asked the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to direct FAAN to remove the abandoned structures at the runway end. It also told NCAA and FAAN to fix the control tower’s line of sight, and asked NiMet to restore and maintain weather equipment in the tower.

The report was built from witness accounts, flight data, air traffic recordings, and an early inspection of the aircraft. NSIB said it will now dig deeper into runway conditions, how weather reports are shared, what caused the landing gear to collapse, and whether Enugu Air’s crew followed proper procedures.

The bureau was careful to note that these are early findings. The final report will determine the full cause and may bring more recommendations.

The Evolution Of Igbo Highlife Music: An Exclusive Interview With Professor Onye Egwu

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SEPTEMBER TOP SCOOPS IN NIGERIA

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April Top Scoops In Nigeria

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