Bombardier Challenger CL-601 aircraft with registration mark N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited, landed on a roadway under construction near the Asaba Airport
Snippets of the circumstances that led to the landing on the roadway close to Asaba Airport on 10th June 2026 and for the takeoff from the roadway of a Bombardier Challenger CL-601 aircraft, registration mark N989BC and operated by VMO Aero Limited, have been released orally by Barr Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
Barr Keyamo, on a Television Continental (TVC) program named POLITICS TONIGHT, explained that after the cockpit crew was cleared for landing, they immediately experienced loss of position awareness, as the air traffic controller lost voice communication with the crew, nor did he see the aircraft landing.
According to Keyamo, as the crew sighted the roadway close to the airport, although without any markings or signage indicating the threshold and other peculiarities of a runway yet, the crew proceeded and executed a safe landing on a road under construction.
“The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. About two minutes later, controllers contacted the crew and asked for their location because the aircraft was nowhere to be seen on the runway or apron,” the minister explained.
Keyamo added that because the control tower is strategically positioned above the airport, controllers have a clear view of the entire runway and aircraft parking areas. When the pilots insisted they had landed safely, officials questioned where exactly the landing had taken place.
The minister further disclosed that Investigations later revealed that the crew had mistaken a newly constructed road located close to the airport for the runway
Keyamo also dispelled the rumor in some quarters that the landing might have been compelled either by technical or mechanical fault in the aircraft, by putting up a reasoning as if puncturing an argument by an opposing counsel in the court room and before a judge when he marshalled the point that no captain would put his life at risk by flying an aircraft believed to have landed because of a mechanical or technical emergency.
He further presented another rationale for the takeoff thus, “If there had been any mechanical failure, the aircraft would not have been able to take off again. The fact that it departed after dropping its passengers clearly indicates that the aircraft was fully serviceable,” Keyamo said.
Asked of the cause of the delay in releasing the preliminary report as statutorily stipulated in the civil aviation regulations, Keyamo volunteered that although aviation authorities have gathered preliminary facts surrounding the incident, the matter has now assumed a broader security dimension.
He however disclosed that, the case has been handed over to the Department of State Service (DSS), which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the landing.
According to the minister, security agencies are examining whether any breaches of aviation or national security protocols occurred and will submit their findings to President Bola Tinubu.
TVC/Monitored
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