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The NCAA has banned the Pilot-in-Command from operating in Nigerian airspace, suspended the First Officer, and grounded the Bombardier Challenger business jet after it mistakenly landed on a road under construction near Asaba Airport.
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NCAA Director-General Captain Chris Najomo confirmed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has joined the investigation, describing the incident as highly unusual and vowing that regulators will uncover exactly what went wrong.
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The NSIB’s preliminary report revealed that the flight crew believed they were correctly aligned with Runway 11 using the aircraft’s navigation system, but instead landed on a paved construction roadway while flying through cloud.
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Investigators are examining cockpit voice and flight data recorders, crew statements, Air Traffic Control communications, and technical evidence to determine whether regulatory violations occurred and prevent a recurrence of the incident.
July 15, (THEWILL) — The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has sanctioned the flight crew of the Bombardier Challenger CL601-3A business jet that mistakenly landed on a road under construction instead of the runway at Asaba Airport, banning the Pilot-in-Command from operating in Nigerian airspace, suspending the First Officer and grounding the aircraft pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, who announced the sanctions while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the Airport Business Summit in Lagos, described the June 10, 2026 incident as highly unusual and assured that the regulator would exhaust every investigative avenue before taking further regulatory action.
Najomo disclosed that the aircraft’s Permit to Fly (PNCF) has also been suspended, effectively preventing it from operating until the investigation is concluded.
The NCAA boss revealed that although the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) carried out the initial safety investigation into the occurrence, the regulatory aspect of the case has now been transferred to the NCAA for an independent probe.
He further disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has joined the investigation.
“I cannot understand how an aircraft could mistake a road for a runway,” Najomo said, stressing that the Authority would leave no stone unturned in establishing the circumstances surrounding the incident before determining any additional regulatory measures.
THEWILL recalls that the NSIB last week released its preliminary report into the incident involving the Bombardier Challenger CL601-3A, registration N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited.
The aircraft departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 8:01 a.m. on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight to Asaba carrying seven persons—the Pilot-in-Command (PIC), Second-in-Command (SIC), an observer pilot, one cabin crew member and three passengers.
All seven occupants escaped unhurt, while the aircraft later returned to Lagos where inspectors discovered minor damage to its left nose-wheel assembly.
According to the preliminary report, the observer pilot questioned what he believed were errors in the aircraft’s Flight Management System (FMS) programming before departure.
However, the Pilot-in-Command reportedly instructed him not to interfere because he was only on board in an observational capacity.
Although the PIC and SIC later acknowledged discrepancies during the FMS setup, they maintained that the issues had been corrected before take-off.
How Aircraft Missed Runway
Investigators said weather conditions around Asaba Airport included broken cloud at about 300 metres with intermittent visibility, making visual identification of the runway difficult.
During the first approach, the Pilot-in-Command reported that although the aircraft’s navigation system indicated proper alignment with the published RNAV Runway 11 approach, the runway environment appeared displaced to the right of the aircraft’s flight path.
He subsequently discontinued the approach and requested a 360-degree turn, which was approved by Air Traffic Control.
The crew then reprogrammed the RNAV approach and commenced a second approach, maintaining that the aircraft’s navigation displays continued to indicate correct alignment and that the runway was in sight before landing.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different account.
According to his statement, the aircraft remained inside cloud much later during the approach while the Ground Proximity Warning System repeatedly issued “Terrain… Terrain… Pull Up” alerts.
He also reported spotting a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the Pilot-in-Command to discontinue the approach and climb away.
Instead, the aircraft continued descending and, at about 8:57 a.m., landed on a paved roadway under construction near, rather than on, Runway 11.
The crew reportedly believed they had landed on a runway extension before realising their mistake after the aircraft came to a stop near parked construction equipment.
The NSIB’s preliminary report concluded that the crew mistook the construction road for Runway 11 while relying on navigation instruments that continued to indicate proper alignment during flight through cloud.
The report also disclosed that Asaba Air Traffic Control made repeated attempts to establish radio communication with the aircraft after the landing but received no response for nearly two hours.
Investigators attributed part of the communication challenge to an unserviceable voice-recording system at the control tower, forcing them to rely on communication transcripts during the investigation.
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