Enugu Air, CEO, explains reasons why aircraft ran off runway at Benin Airport
The Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager of Enugu Air, Captain Tolu Ita, has attributed Thursday’s runway excursion involving one of the airline’s aircraft at Benin Airport to hydroplaning during landing, stressing that the incident was neither a crash nor an emergency landing.
In a viral clip on Friday, Captain Ita said the aircraft, operating a scheduled flight from Lagos to Benin, landed safely before skidding off the runway during the landing roll due to hydroplaning.
“Following the scheduled flight from Lagos to Benin, the aircraft landed and, due to hydroplaning on the runway, we experienced a runway excursion during the landing roll,” she said.
Captain Ita emphasised that all passengers and crew members were safe, with no injuries or fatalities recorded.
“We are deeply grateful that all passengers and crew members are safe. Most importantly, there were no injuries and no casualties,” she stated.
The Enugu Air CEO dismissed suggestions that the occurrence was a crash, saying: “We would like to reiterate that this was not a crash nor was it an emergency landing.”
According to Captain Ita, aviation authorities have commenced a full investigation in line with global industry standards to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.
“As is standard practice across the global aviation industry, a full investigation is currently being conducted in close collaboration with the relevant aviation agencies to establish the complete facts surrounding this occurrence. We are committed to full cooperation and will share verified updates,” she said.
