ENUGU AIR: How crew’s skill, rain averted major incident - CEO

Enugu Air's flight crew demonstrated professionalism and skill when Flight 4264 overran the runway on its way from Lagos to Benin, according to the airline's management. The aircraft, with registration 5N-ENR, landed safely but failed to stop before exiting the runway and entering a grassy area. All 63 passengers and five crew members were evacuated using emergency slides.

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From our perspective, especially because we are required as an airline to carry out an internal investigation, which we have done, and we have to submit our report also, what happened is, it was a normal flight. Based on several recounts, the crew landed.

Captain Tolu Ita, the airline's CEO, stated that the wet conditions and terrain likely prevented the incident from escalating. She explained that the pilots deployed brakes and reverse thrust but the plane did not stop as expected. An internal investigation is ongoing, and the airline is cooperating with the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to retrieve the aircraft's black box for a comprehensive report.

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It was a normal profile, landed on the runway and deployed brakes and reverse thrust but the plane did not stop. Of course, they ended up exiting the whole runway and ended up in the bush. After stopping, they carried out a normal emergency evacuation.

Ita urged travelers not to lose confidence in Enugu Air, emphasizing that a single incident does not define the airline's safety record. Since obtaining its Air Operator's Certificate on March 10 and starting operations on March 16, Enugu Air has completed over 3,500 flights successfully. "One flight out of 3,500 flights is not enough to define an airline," Ita said, noting that other leading airlines have experienced similar runway excursions without their safety records being permanently damaged.

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They had to use emergency slides to come out of the aircraft because there were no slides. But this is something they did impromptu because they are always prepared.