A Dana Air MD-82 veered off the runway in Nigeria after the aircraft’s nose collapsed while landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) in Lagos.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said that air traffic controllers observed the “nosewheel had retracted” causing the front of the plane to collapse.
The Dana Air MD-62 pilot subsequently lost control and the aircraft veered off the runway before coming to rest on a grassy area.
The aircraft, registered 5N-BKI, left Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV) on April 23, 2024, at around 09:20 local time with 82 passengers and six crew members on board and arrived in Lagos at 10:15.
All passengers and crew safely disembarked the aircraft, and they were evacuated from the area, while runway 18L was immediately closed.
In an initial accident report the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said: “It had been raining, and the runway 18L surface was wet. The aircraft had a technical problem with its landing gear and experienced directional control problems after landing, which made it veer to the left of the runway, and travelled from that point to the grassy part of Runway18L link 6 turn-off point.”
What happened on @DanaAir, on an #Abuja–#Lagos flight? 😳 pic.twitter.com/MV1zbx2ZhJ
— Osasu Obayiuwana (@osasuo) April 23, 2024
The NCAA confirmed that an investigation into the incident led by the NSIB had begun and reiterated its “commitment to a safe and secure aviation sector”.
“The traveling public is hereby assured of NCAA’s unrelenting efforts in holding all operators and service providers in the sector to the highest international safety standard,” Captain Chris Najomo, the acting Directorate General of Civil Aviation at the NCAA, said.
Dana Air praised the flight crew for handling the incident with the “upmost professionalism” and apologized to its passengers.