The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that an Air Peace aircraft hit an antelope, leaving the aircraft grounded.
The Director, Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA/Civil Aviation, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the development on Sunday through his X account, seen by THE WHISTLER.
He explained that the information is part of NCAA’s commitment to a transparent oversight of airline operations.
Achimugu said, “Monitoring reports yesterday indicated that an Air Peace aircraft ran into a large antelope, decimating the animal and leaving the aircraft AOG (aircraft on ground).
“As a result, flights meant to be operated by this aircraft would naturally be disrupted, even though engineers are on the ground to assess and fix the plane. Passengers waiting would naturally be infuriated.
“Incidents like this are literal illustrations of the disruptions not caused by the airlines (domestic or international).”
He explained that despite the incident, Air Peace owes its passengers information, refund and other forms of compensation.
Achimugu said, “This explainer is for illustrative purpose, not to excuse airlines when they fail to do their duties to passengers.
“Even with situations like this, the airline still owes its passengers the information, refund, and other forms of care they are entitled to, and can still be sanctioned if they fail to provide same.”
Recall that a similar incident occurred in July 2005 when an Air France A330 carrying 196 passengers collided with a herd of cows on the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport.
The incident occurred when the Air France A330 aircraft was landing and the herd of cattle was crossing active runway.
The aircraft killed six cows while the plane damaged leading to cancellation of the return flights to Paris.
