News
Overland Plane with 63 People On Board veers off Runway in Ilorin
An Overland plane flying from Abuja reportedly crash landed at the Ilorin airport today, Saturday November 29th.
According to Punch, the aircraft overshot the runway causing it to crash. A total of 59 passengers and four crew members were on board.
There were no casualties.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) released a statement about the incident:
An Overland flight 1186, an ATR 72 aircraft with Registration number 5N-BPG from Abuja airport to Ilorin, carrying fifty nine passengers and four crew members,veered off the runway at low speed after a normal landing at the Ilorin Airport.
The incident which occurred today Saturday, November 29, at 4.45pm, has no casualty recorded. However, the Accident and Prevention Bureau in conjunction with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has begun an investigation into the cause of the incident.
The authority wishes to use this medium to reassure Nigerians that safety of the traveling public is still paramount and cannot be compromised.
However, Overland’s management reportedly claimed that the plane did not crash land. They released a statement:
It was a normal flight to Ilorin and standard procedures of flight were followed. The aircraft landed safely at Ilorin Airport at 1645hrs as scheduled and decelerated to a low speed, and in turning off the active runway, veered off the pavement.At the directive of the Pilot In Command, our cabin crew calmly evacuated all the 59 passengers safely and they were moved to the airport terminal. No passengers or crew sustained any injuries whatsoever.Our Ilorin passengers have since collected their baggage and gone home while the Ibadan Airport bound passengers will continue on Overland Airways to Ibadan Airport.