An aircraft used by Air Peace to operate a flight from Abuja to Port Harcourt skidded off the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport today,
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 aircraft with registration marks 5N-BRN had 94 passengers on board when the incident occurred.
All the 100 souls, 94 passengers and six crew members on board the aircraft were evacuated safely.
Confirming the incident, Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria said that it has been notified of the incident by the airline.
In a statement spokesperson at AIB, Tunji Oketunbi said, “The Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria has been notified of the Air Peace B737 aircraft from Abuja to Port Harcourt with 94 passengers and six crew members on board with Registration marks 5N-BRN, which skidded off the Runway to the left about 1300m from the Runway 21 threshold at the Port Harcourt International airport. All passengers and crew have been evacuated safely. Accident Investigation Bureau has dispatched investigators who are on their way to the site”.
Also confirming the incident, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) in a statement by its spokesperson, Henrietta Yakubu state that the incident happened during a heavy down pour in Port Harcourt.
Reacting to the incident, the Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, blamed the incident on the heavy downpour this afternoon.
“We confirm that Air Peace Flight P47291 Abuja-Port Harcourt had a runway excursion upon landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport on June 22 due to downpour.
” Our professional crew quickly recovered within seconds of the incident and the aircraft was successfully normalised.
“Our esteemed passengers on board the flight were calm during the incident and disembarked normally.
“Our teams of experts and the authorities are currently reviewing the incident and we will give our cooperation for a thorough exercise.
“We apologise to our esteemed passengers for the inconvenience caused them and wish to assure them that we will continue to prioritise their safety in all our operations.”
The Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, says it had been notified by the airline and had dispatched a team of its investigators to the incident site.
