The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has revealed fresh details on the June 10 aviation incident in which a VMO Aero aircraft landed on an under-construction roadway instead of the runway at Asaba Airport, disclosing sharp disagreements among the cockpit crew before and during the ill-fated flight.
A preliminary report released by the bureau showed that while the pilot-in-command and second-in-command blamed the observer pilot for identifying the roadway as the runway, the observer pilot insisted he repeatedly warned the captain to abort the approach after the aircraft descended through cloud into unsafe conditions.
The aircraft, carrying seven persons, including three pilots, a cabin crew member and three passengers, landed on a paved roadway near the airport after two attempts to land on Runway 11. No fatalities were recorded.
According to the NSIB, the crew had initially requested and received approval from air traffic control to make a right orbit during the first approach before executing a missed approach and positioning for a second landing attempt.
The bureau said the aircraft’s navigation system indicated that it was correctly established on the published RNAV approach to Runway 11.
It stated, however, that both the pilot-in-command and second-in-command told investigators that the observer pilot pointed to the paved surface ahead as the runway before the captain continued the landing.
The observer pilot gave investigators a markedly different account.
According to the report, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach while the Ground Proximity Warning System repeatedly sounded “Terrain, Terrain, Pull Up” alerts.
He also claimed he sighted a telecommunications mast ahead of the aircraft and immediately instructed the captain to discontinue the approach and climb away.
The NSIB said the aircraft nevertheless continued the landing and touched down on an under-construction roadway at about 8.57am.
Investigators said the flight crew only realised they had landed on the wrong surface after the aircraft came to a stop close to parked construction equipment.
The captain reportedly told investigators that he initially believed the paved surface formed part of an extension of Runway 11 until the aircraft stopped.
The observer pilot, however, said he recognised through the captain’s side window that the aircraft had landed on a roadway and immediately instructed the pilot to apply maximum braking as the jet approached the end of the paved section.
The cabin crew also confirmed that it only became obvious after the aircraft stopped that it had landed somewhere other than the intended runway.
The report also uncovered disagreements among the pilots before take-off.
According to the NSIB, the observer pilot questioned what he believed were discrepancies in the programming of the aircraft’s Flight Management System before departure and brought them to the attention of the operating crew.
The observer pilot alleged that the captain dismissed his concerns, reminding him that he was not rated on the aircraft type and was on board only in an observational capacity.
Although the pilot-in-command and second-in-command admitted discrepancies were encountered during programming of the Flight Management System, they said the errors were corrected before departure.
The bureau also disclosed that another disagreement erupted during the pre-flight briefing after the captain announced Flight Level 290 as the planned cruising altitude.
The observer pilot reportedly argued that the aircraft should instead cruise at Flight Level 190, leading to another disagreement before take-off.
The cabin crew told investigators she considered the disagreement serious enough to report it to the airline’s management before the flight departed.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority had grounded the aircraft and suspended the operator’s permit following the incident.
The NSIB said its investigation is continuing and that the preliminary report does not apportion blame but is intended to establish the facts and improve aviation safety.
This version is structured like a hard news report, with a stronger lead, clearer chronology, smoother transitions, and the most newsworthy findings placed high in the story while retaining the key details from the NSIB’s preliminary report.
