Owerri-bound Air Peace flight suffers engine failure 11 minutes after takeoff

A Boeing 737-500 aircraft operated by Air Peace suffered engine failure 11 minutes after it took off from the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) said it has been notified of the incident and it has commenced an investigation.

The Owerri-bound flight was said to have had 90 passengers on board with six crew members returned to the general aviation terminal (GAT) of the Lagos airport around 8:06 a.m.

“The Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria has been notified on the 5th November 2019 of a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-500 aircraft operated by Air Peace, with registration marks, 5N-BUJ,” the statement signed by Tunji Oketunbi, AIB’s general manager for public affairs, read.

“The aircraft, which departed Murtala Muhammad Airport at 07:35 local time was en route Owerri from Lagos with 90 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

“From the information provided by the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the flight crew declared engine failure at 07:47 local time and subsequently made an air return to Lagos.

“The aircraft landed safely at 08:06 local time. All the occupants disembarked with no injury.

“As the sole agency mandated to undertake the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents, the Bureau wants the public to know that it would be open to receiving any video clip, relevant evidence or information that may assist in this investigation.”

In a statement, Stanley Olisa, a spokesperson for the airline, said the pilot “reported the incident, took precautionary measure and returned to base in line with Air Peace safety operational procedures”.