Asaba Jet Landing: Pilot Mistook Construction Road for Runway, Matter Now With DSS — Keyamo

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that the private aircraft which landed on a road near Asaba Airport in Delta State did not experience any mechanical failure, revealing instead that the pilots mistakenly identified a nearby road under construction as the airport runway.

Keyamo said the incident, involving the U.S.-registered private aircraft with registration number N989BC, has now become a national security matter, with the Department of State Services (DSS) leading investigations alongside other security agencies.

Speaking during a television interview, the minister explained that the aircraft had been properly cleared by the control tower to land at Asaba Airport before communication with the pilots took an unexpected turn.

According to him, air traffic controllers lost visual contact with the aircraft moments after issuing landing clearance and were unable to locate it on the airport's runway.

"The tower in Asaba cleared them to land. After about two minutes, the tower called and said, 'Where is your location? I can't see you again. I can't see you on the tarmac.'

"As it is known, the tower is always elevated, so one can see the whole runway and the apron.

"But they said they had landed, so the tower asked, 'Landed where?' I can see the whole runway and aprons, but you are not there.

"They said they landed on a roadway that they saw. It happened that it was a construction site very close to the airport. They saw a beautiful road there that looked like a runway and landed there," Keyamo said.

The minister disclosed that the pilots dropped off their passengers before taking off again for Lagos, a development he said confirmed there was no technical fault with the aircraft.

"Before the relevant agency could get there to ask questions, they took off to Lagos after dropping their passengers. There was no mechanical failure, and that was why they could take off again," he said.

Keyamo said the circumstances surrounding the incident have elevated it beyond a routine aviation occurrence, prompting the involvement of national security agencies.

"Those facts are before the Department of State Services (DSS). It has gone beyond aviation; it is now a security concern. Security agencies are looking into it, and there are reports they will first send to Mr President because it is a matter of national security," he added.

The incident has attracted significant public attention, with aviation authorities already commencing regulatory investigations into the unusual landing.

Meanwhile, Keyamo said the Federal Government is taking steps to address concerns raised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) over the high operating costs faced by airlines in Nigeria.

He disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a committee comprising officials from the aviation, finance and tax sectors, as well as representatives of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), to review taxes, levies and other charges imposed on airlines.

According to the minister, the committee is expected to recommend measures that will reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria's aviation industry while maintaining safety and regulatory standards.