The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed that the private aircraft which landed on a road near Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State weeks ago was not forced down by any mechanical fault but instead landed after its pilots mistook a nearby construction road for the runway.
Speaking during an appearance on TVC’s Politics Tonight, the minister said the aircraft, with registration number N989BC, had received clearance to land at Asaba Airport but failed to arrive at the designated runway.
According to Keyamo, air traffic controllers became alarmed after losing visual contact with the aircraft shortly after granting landing clearance.
“The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. After about two minutes, the tower called and said, ‘Where is your location? I can’t see you again. I can’t see you on the tarmac,'” he said.
He explained that the control tower has a clear view of the airport’s runway and apron, making the aircraft’s disappearance immediately suspicious.
“As it is known, the tower is always elevated, thus one can see the whole of the runway and the apron,” Keyamo stated.
The minister said the pilots later informed air traffic controllers that they had landed elsewhere, prompting officials to question where exactly they had touched down.
“But they said they had landed, so the tower asked: ‘Landed where?’ I can see the whole of the runway and aprons, but you are not there,” he recounted.
According to Keyamo, the aircraft had landed on a nearby construction road after the pilots apparently mistook it for the airport runway.
“They said they landed on a roadway that they saw. It happened that it was a construction site very close to the airport. They saw a beautiful road there that looked like a runway and landed there,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that after dropping off its passengers, the aircraft departed the location and flew to Lagos without authorisation, indicating there was no technical problem with the aircraft.
“Before the relevant agency could go there and ask questions, they took off to Lagos after dropping their passengers. There was no mechanical failure, and that was why they could take off again,” Keyamo added.
He noted that the incident has now gone beyond an aviation matter and is being treated as a national security issue.
“Those facts are before the Department of State Services (DSS). It has gone beyond aviation; it is now a security concern. Security agencies are looking into that, and there are reports they will first send to Mr President because it is a matter of national security,” the minister said.
