…As Air Peace aborts Lagos-Abuja flight due to faulty tyres

By Louis Ibah

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The Federal Government has approved the appointment of five new Directors and one General Manager for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
A statement on Monday by the spokesman of the NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, gave the names of the new appointees and their designations as Group Captain Edem Oyo-Ita, Director of Air Transport Regulations (DATR); Ahmed Abbas Sanusi, Director, Human Resources and Administration; Bilikisu Adamu Sani, Director of Finance and Accounts; Odunowo Tayyib Adetunji, Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards; Ita Awak, Director of Airworthiness Standards; and Mr. Lawrence Mathew Kwajok, General Manager, Air Navigational Standards.
“All appointments are with immediate effect,” the statement said. Recall that the government, had last Friday, sacked directors of the NCAA leaving behind only the Director General/CEO of the regulatory agency, Capt. Muktar Usman. The sack came barely two months after a similar exercise was executed at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Meanwhile, an Abuja bound Air Peace flight yesterday suffered tyre pressure loss during take-off, forcing the pilot to abort the journey. There was no harm to both passengers and crew, although the incident created fear and panic at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, as it was initially suspected that three tyres of the Boeing 737 aircraft were lost.
A statement by Air Peace spokesman, Mr. Chris Iwarah, said it was a case of air leakage in one of the tyres. “At about 11am today, our Lagos-Abuja flight aborted its takeoff at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos when the pilot-in-command suspected that there was an issue with one of the tyres of the aircraft,” said Iwarah.
“Although it was initially suspected to be a case of burst tyre, our Engineering Department later inspected the aircraft and confirmed that one of the tyres got deflated. The issue has since been addressed, he said.