The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has disclosed that poor maintenance and power failure was part of the issues that led to the incident involving a Boeing 737-400 aircraft operated by Max Air Limited with registration number 5N-MBD.
Akin Olateru, the Director General of the NSIB, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Olateru, the incident which occurred on May 7, 2023, was due to poor maintenance and power failure.
A month ago, the Max Air aircraft had two burst tires from the point of origin ( Yola) but made an emergency landing at Abuja airport.
MaxAir in a statement confirming the accident said, “On May 7th, 2023, a Max Air flight with 143 passengers and 01 infant on board, departing from Yola at around 14:05, was scheduled to arrive in Abuja at 15:00. However, the aircraft experienced two tire bursts on landing Abuja, and the emergency response team quickly responded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.”
Olateru noted that the Yola ATC Voice Recording System did not record any communication between the pilot and the duty controller on the day of the occurrence.
He then tasked the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ensure that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) ensure uninterrupted power supply to avoid the vulnerability of operations.
He said days before the aircraft was operated, the wheel of the aircraft was worked on.
He said, “Days before the use of the aircraft, the wheels were worked on and when you work on the wheel, there are ways you are supposed to tighten the nuts, there is what we call locking wire of the nuts and there are other things to secure the wheel in place.
“Two days after, the wheel came out, which shows that something must be wrong with the maintenance of the aircraft. Whoever did the wheel definitely did not follow the manufacturer’s recommendation on how to change the wheel.
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“So, for a wheel to have fallen off, even Boeing was also interested in this because it is their aircraft and they find the news very embarrassing. So, they are working with us so that they can have firsthand information.
Giving further details of the incident, Olateru said: “At 12:10 h 5N-MBD departed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (DNAA) for Yola (DNYO) as NGL1648 and arrived at Yola at 13:25 h.
“The aircraft was on ground Yola for about 30 minutes before the turn around for Abuja adding that after takeoff, the landing gear was left extended for three minutes to allow cooling due to high temperature on ground Yola.
“At 14:08 h, Nigerian Air Force personnel from the Air Force Hanger close to runway 35, reported to Yola Control Tower that an object appearing like a tyre fell off from the departing NGL1649.
“Yola DATCO promptly informed the Pilot of NGL1649 as well as Kano Area Control (ACC) and Abuja Tower. The flight purser (L1) and another cabin crew (L2) informed the Pilot that a passenger in seat row 24 informed them about seeing a wheel fall off from the aeroplane.”
Olateru noted that the pilot mentioned that instruments and landing gear indications were normal.
“At 14:51 h Yola ATC informed Abuja Tower and NGL1649 that nothing was found after the runway inspection.
He said that the landing was normal but after the aeroplane started decelerating, he noticed the port side wing was dropping lower than normal, he applied full aileron control to keep the wing from dropping until the lift decayed.
“Thrust reverser and minimal braking were used to stop the aircraft on the runway. At 14:57 h, Abuja ATC informed NGL1649 “Be advised, it appears you have smoke around your aircraft.
“We called the fire watch room, the Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (ARFF) and emergency services were alerted. The aircraft came to a stop between Link A5 and A6 about 2900 m from the threshold of runway 22.”
