By Bobor Dan Kamara
Rumours doing their rounds in the social media regarding the safety state of aircraft 5N-BZZ have sparked travelling fears among those always on the go.
Amid this mixed message, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) has come clean to clarify that the Aircraft with Nigerian Registration Marks 5N-BZZ was involved in a runway excursion in May 2024 while operating for Xejet Airline in Nigeria. SLCAA described the “runway excursion” as an incident in which an aircraft veers off the runway during landing or takeoff or fails to remain on the designated landing strip.
Preliminary report released by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIP) indicated that the incident was a runway excursion with no fatalities or injuries serious or minor, no damage to the aircraft, that the aircraft had a valid Airworthiness Certificate and valid Insurance at the time of the incident. It stated that the left main wheel tires of the aircraft was deflated as a result of the incident.
It added that the toxicology test conducted on the crew all came back negative, adding that the flight crew were licensed and certified to conduct the flight. It went to say that the visibility at the time of landing was 1,000m in heavy rain with thunderstorms, preceding traffic had carried out a missed approach due to heavy rain in a thunderstorm with visibility of 1,000m.
The SLCAA also stated that the aircraft has completed its scheduled maintenance checks in South Africa and has successfully completed its airworthiness inspections by the Nigerian CAA (The State of Registry). “A team from the Directorate of Flight Safety Standards of the SLCAA has just completed a base inspection of Xejet’s operations in Nigeria as the owner of the aircraft that will be used for Air Sierra Leone’s operations,” they wrote.
While they noted that no significant findings were identified during the process, they assured the public of their commitment to safety and security of Civil Aviation in Sierra Leone at all times and that only aircraft with valid Airworthiness status will be permitted to operate Air Transport Activity in Sierra Leone.
