The Nigeria Civil Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operating permit of Mattini Airline Services Limited, following a runway incident involving one of its private jets at Ibadan Airport on Friday.
The Challenger CL 601 aircraft, with registration number N580KR, had departed Abuja with 15 persons on board, but overshot the runway while landing at Ibadan. No one was injured in the incident, and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated.
This is the second time in less than three months that a private jet has overshot the runway at Ibadan Airport. In November last year, a HS25B jet operated by Flint Aero also experienced a similar serious incident, but without any casualties.
The NCAA said that the suspension of Mattini Airline’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF) was in accordance with Section 32 (4) of the Civil Aviation Act 2022, and would remain in force until the completion of investigations by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The NSIB, which is the agency responsible for conducting safety investigations into aviation accidents and incidents in Nigeria, said that it had dispatched a team of investigators to the scene of the incident to collect evidence and interview witnesses.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NSIB, Bimbo Oladeji, said that the bureau would release a preliminary report as soon as possible, and appealed to the public and the press to respect the privacy of the people involved and not to speculate on the cause of the incident until a formal report is issued.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said that the agency had also initiated safety and economic audits of all private jet operations in Nigeria, to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the PNCF and other relevant regulations.
He said that the NCAA was committed to ensuring the safety and security of the Nigerian airspace, and urged all operators and stakeholders to cooperate with the agency in its oversight functions.
