Five days after excursion, unremoved Enugu Air aircraft limits flights at Benin airport

Five days after an Enugu Air Embraer E170 aircraft overran the landing strip at Benin Airport (BNI), the failure to recover and evacuate the damaged jet has continued to disrupt flight operations and restrict capacity at the facility.

Findings by BusinessDay reveal that the presence of the disabled aircraft near the airside has forced the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to temporarily restrict operational space, leaving active movements constrained and causing flight delays across commercial airlines serving the route.

Tolu Ita, Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager of Enugu Air, told BusinessDay that FAAN is currently coordinating the extraction process, adding that the airline’s engineering team is on the ground in Benin working to safely lift and remove the jet.

However, regulatory considerations around ongoing investigations have slowed down physical recovery.

Henry Agbebire, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, noted that investigative procedures naturally dictate the pace of removal at this stage.

“I think the aircraft is still under investigation. You may have to at this early stage direct the question to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) or Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The airline also has a role to play here,” Agbebire told BusinessDay.

A source close to FAAN, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the delay stems partly from a lack of specialized aircraft recovery equipment at secondary airports.

According to the source, heavy-duty towing equipment is typically centralized at major hubs like Lagos and Abuja, and transporting such specialized gear between aerodromes presents significant logistical risks and operational delays.

“This is an operational issue. Last year, we got one of the equipment for Abuja airport and FAAN sent its staff abroad to train them on how to use the equipment. The equipment is not available at Benin airport but I’m sure there are plans to move the aircraft towing equipment to Benin,” he said.

Oyenekan Oloyede, Airport Manager, Benin Airport said the aircraft remains at the incident site because its recovery is being conducted in accordance with established aviation safety procedures.

According to Oloyede, the immediate priority following the occurrence was to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, secure the site, and allow the relevant investigative authorities (i.e., NSIB and NCAA) to carry out their work without compromising any evidence.

“Aircraft recovery, which is the next step, is a carefully coordinated process involving the airline, the airport operator, the aircraft manufacturer where necessary), insurers, and the NSIB.
The aircraft can only be moved once the required technical assessments have been completed and NSIB and NCAA have granted the appropriate approvals,” Oloyede explained.

“We have the necessary aeronautical information (NOTAM) in place notifying airspace users of the condition of the Aerodrome accordingly,” he stated.

This is however not the first time it is taking days to evacuate damaged aircraft from runway.

BusinessDay findings show that when there incidents with aircraft across major airports in Nigeria, there are often no towing equipment on ground to tow the aircrafts from the airside and this is the reason why the runway is often closed for almost a whole day or more and airlines have to divert flights each time there is an air incident at the airports.

In 2024, Dana incident led to the temporary closure of the Lagos runway for over 18 hours.

The equipment for evacuating aircraft from the runway was taken away from the Lagos runway and taken to Kano at the time.

The Enugu Air aircraft, operating as Flight 4264 with registration mark 5N-ENR, departed Lagos (LOS) and experienced a runway excursion after overrunning the end of Runway 05 upon landing at approximately 3:10 PM local time (1410 UTC).

The Bureau confirmed that 68 persons, comprising 63 passengers and five crew members were on board the flight. All occupants were safely evacuated without any recorded injuries or casualties.

On Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 4:21 PM ifeoma okeke <[email protected]> wrote:
Five days after excursion, unremoved Enugu Air aircraft limits flights at Benin airport

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Five days after an Enugu Air Embraer E170 aircraft overran the landing strip at Benin Airport (BNI), the failure to recover and evacuate the damaged jet has continued to disrupt flight operations and restrict capacity at the facility.

Findings by BusinessDay reveal that the presence of the disabled aircraft near the airside has forced the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to temporarily restrict operational space, leaving active movements constrained and causing flight delays across commercial airlines serving the route.

Tolu Ita, Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager of Enugu Air, told BusinessDay that FAAN is currently coordinating the extraction process, adding that the airline’s engineering team is on the ground in Benin working to safely lift and remove the jet.

However, regulatory considerations around ongoing investigations have slowed down physical recovery.

Henry Agbebire, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at FAAN, noted that investigative procedures naturally dictate the pace of removal at this stage.

“I think the aircraft is still under investigation. You may have to at this early stage direct the question to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) or Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The airline also has a role to play here,” Agbebire told BusinessDay.

A source close to FAAN, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the delay stems partly from a lack of specialized aircraft recovery equipment at secondary airports.

According to the source, heavy-duty towing equipment is typically centralized at major hubs like Lagos and Abuja, and transporting such specialized gear between aerodromes presents significant logistical risks and operational delays.

“This is an operational issue. Last year, we got one of the equipment for Abuja airport and FAAN sent its staff abroad to  train them on how to  use the equipment. The equipment is not available at Benin airport but I’m sure there are plans to move the aircraft towing equipment to Benin,” he said.

Oyenekan Oloyede, Airport Manager, Benin Airport said the aircraft remains at the incident site because its recovery is being conducted in accordance with established aviation safety procedures.

According to Oloyede, the immediate priority following the occurrence was to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, secure the site, and allow the relevant investigative authorities (i.e., NSIB and NCAA) to carry out their work without compromising any evidence.

“Aircraft recovery, which is the next step, is a carefully coordinated process involving the airline, the airport operator, the aircraft manufacturer where necessary), insurers, and the NSIB.
The aircraft can only be moved once the required technical assessments have been completed and NSIB and NCAA have granted the appropriate approvals,”  Oloyede explained.

However, he said he has engaged a professional disabled aircraft removal company (C-KEINAH NIG LTD), who is currently discussing with the airline operator, NAMA, and FAAN to commence removal.

“We have the necessary aeronautical information (NOTAM) in place notifying airspace users of the condition of the Aerodrome accordingly,” he stated.

This is however not the first time it is taking days to evacuate damaged aircraft from runway.

BusinessDay findings show that when there incidents with aircraft across major airports in Nigeria, there are often no towing equipment on ground to tow the aircrafts from the airside and this is the reason why the runway is often closed for almost a whole day or more and airlines have to divert flights each time there is an air incident at the airports.

In 2024, Dana incident led to the temporary closure of the Lagos runway for over 18 hours.

The equipment for evacuating aircraft from the runway was taken away from the Lagos runway and taken to Kano at the time.

The Enugu Air aircraft, operating as Flight 4264 with registration mark 5N-ENR, departed Lagos (LOS) and experienced a runway excursion after overrunning the end of Runway 05 upon landing at approximately 3:10 PM local time (1410 UTC).

The Bureau confirmed that 68 persons, comprising 63 passengers and five crew members were on board the flight. All occupants were safely evacuated without any recorded injuries or casualties.