Cargo plane escapes crash at MMA

[TallDutch]

A Boeing 747 cargo aircraft made a missed approach at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday afternoon and sent airport workers and bystanders scampering for safety.

The aircraft, operated by Air Atlas, barely missed crashing into the Presidential Lounge and the new terminal building, as it aborted landing on its final approach to the airport runway. No official explanation has been offered for the incident. The plane was coming from Dubai.

Aircraft pilots execute a missed approach if it is discovered that a runway is blocked or the aircraft is not properly aligned to the runway just as they are about to land.

They then engage full throttle and climb to a higher altitude to make another landing attempt.

According to eyewitnesses, the aircraft, which was flying at a very low altitude with its landing gear lowered, swept over the new terminal building and the VIP lounge at about 1pm.

This caused a stampede as onlookers, fearing for the worst, scattered in several directions.

The plane, however, gained altitude, circled the airport once and eventually landed at the international wing of MMA.

An initial assessment by an independent source, however, indicated that the pilot probably did not get the proper alignment with the Instrument Landing System to guide him for landing on the designated Runway 18 Right.

Speaking to newsmen shortly afterwards, the General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Mr. Supo Atobatele, confirmed the incident, but said that investigations were on going to unravel the possible cause.

Atobatele disclosed that himself and the Managing Director of NAMA, Captain Ado Sanusi, witnessed the scene and that the agency immediately began asking questions about the incident.

Near mishaps have been a recurrent problem in the sector of late, thereby raising concerns about air safety.

This incident is coming just as the spokesman for the agency disclosed that a Dakar-based French Calibration Company, ASECNA, had commenced the calibration of MMA and other airports.

Atobatele stated that the calibration was part of the upgrade on navigational aids that would facilitate smooth take off and landing of aircraft.

According to him, the aircraft used by the calibrating company has the necessary equipment to detect any malfunction of navigational aids in the airport, such as ILS, Very High Omni Directional Frequency Radio Range and Distant Measurement Equipment.

The exercise began on Tuesday in Lagos with an ATR 42 aircraft, which had made about 10 flights around the airport and is expected to move to Owerri and Abuja on Wednesday.

A similar exercise is billed for Sokoto and Kano airports on Thursday.

In a related development, Chanchangi Airline has promised to make safety its watchword after its aircraft cargo hold was mistakenly left open at the Abuja airport as one of its planes prepared to depart for Lagos on Saturday.

http://www.punchontheweb.com/Article-pr ... 0310541042

[TWR]

Here we go again...

another spectacular title for a non-event.