Just in: NCAA bans pilot who landed plane on Delta road

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By Dickson Omobola

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Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Wednesday, disclosed that the pilot-in-command of the aircraft that landed on a road in Delta State has been banned from operating in the Nigerian airspace until investigation is completed.

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In June, a private jet with registration number N989BC and operated by VMO Aero Ltd landed on a road in the Ogwashi-Uku area of Delta State.

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The private jet, which had four crew members on board, subsequently departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval.

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Addressing newsmen in Lagos on the sidelines of the Airport Business Summit, Director General of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, said the First Officer had also been suspended pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.

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He said: “The investigation is still ongoing. Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has handed the investigation to us (the NCAA). We are doing our own investigation. As we speak, the aircraft is grounded. The Permit for Non-Commercial Flight, PNCF, is suspended.

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“The pilots are suspended from flying in this airspace until we come up with our own investigation because, as a pilot for 45 years, I can’t see a road and land on the road. You will look at the other motives, too. The DSS got involved and they are investigating. Until that investigation comes out, it remains like that.”

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