...as Saudi-bound aircraft damages airport facility
A Saudi Arabia-bound Boeing 747 aircraft on hajj operation from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, Kano on Friday night made an emergency landing at Sokoto Airport owing to a punctured tyre.
Sunday Mirror gathered that the puncture was as a result of Foreign Object Debris, FOD, it picked up on the runway when it wanted to take off to Mecca.
Our correspondent learnt that the pilot of the aircraft would have aborted the flight before takeoff, but was already on 'point of no return' as at the time of the incident. 'Point of no return' in aviation is a situation where the pilot must continue with the take-off plan no matter the incident, but will immediately either call for an emergency landing or make a return to the next airport available, which was what the pilot did.
Sunday Mirror gathered that one of the tyres exploded mid-air and all the passengers aboard the plane were successfully evacuated and lodged in a hotel in the state. It was gathered that the aircraft had a faulty landing at Sokoto Airport.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, blamed the pilot of the aircraft for disobeying the control tower who had earlier cleared it to land on runway 08, as the captain reportedly chose to use runway 26.
In the process, FAAN alleged that the pilot damaged some of the Instrument Landing System, ILS, of the airport in Sokoto. An online statement signed by the General Manager, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said that the aircraft had a landing incident at the Sokoto airport at 9pm.
Dati stated that the aircraft, which departed Kano was en route Saudi Arabia when it had a stopover at the Sokoto Airport for passenger pickup.
He explained that preliminary reports indicated that the control tower gave the pilot clearance to land on runway 08, but the captain, chose to use runway 26, for reasons yet to be ascertained.
He informed that the aircraft however damaged some ILS and came to a stop with deflated tyres. The statement added, "The FAAN emergency response apparatus acted swiftly to secure all souls on board and the aircraft.
Source: Another plane crash averted in Sokoto (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/another-plane-crash-averted-in-sokoto/)