Two foreign aircraft have been grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) allegedly for operating illegally in the country’s airspace,
The aircraft are Bombardier 700-100 with registration marks G-RBEN Global express S/N 9083 operated by Gama Aviation, United (UK) Limited and Embraer 135 J with registration marks XAMHA.
Spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, in a statement Sunday said the operators of G-RBEN aircraft were found operating in Nigeria’s airspace with falsified flight clearance information and conducting illegal domestic flight operations in Nigeria.
They were accused of carrying out other infractions like conducting illegal commercial flight operations contrary to conditions contained in Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) Part 10 and security violations.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the Embraer 135BJ registration marks XA-MHA was reported to have landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from London, Farnborough without any flight clearance on September 10, 2015. Adurogboye noted that reports from the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) indicated that the crew informed them that they possess a ministerial approval for the flight.
However, on landing, the crew could not produce any ministerial approval as claimed.
The BD 700-100 is a United Kingdom Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holder and has been carrying out several domestic operations between Abuja and Lagos without the Authority’s Permit/Certification in accordance with Nigerian CARs Part 10.
While further investigation continues both aircraft remain grounded. He said the aircraft country registry in UK CAA and Mexican Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA) will be notified appropriately.
The NCAA spokesman noted that the Legal and Enforcement Department of the regulatory agency will after the conclusion of the investigation decide on appropriate sanctions and enforcement procedure according NCARs.
The Director General of NCAA, Capt. Muhtar Usman, however, reaffirmed that the authority is committed to the enforcement of compliance to safety regulations.
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