The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says it has begun probe into the circumstances leading to the skidding off of an Embraer 145 aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Saturday.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the Embraer 145 aircraft in the fleet of Xejet Airlines skidded off onto a grassy verge at the airport in Lagos.
Confirming the incident in a statement, the Safety Investigation Bureau said its team of investigators had been deployed to the scene to ascertain the cause of the incident.
“NSIB confirms that an aircraft belonging to XeJet Airline skidded off the runway at the domestic wing of Murtala Mohammed Airport this morning,” the accident probe body said in electronic statement.
“A go team has been deployed to the site of the incident.”
There are increasing cases of incidents involving aircraft skidding off the runway at airports across the country.
Over the years, the aviation industry has experienced serious incidents of aircraft skidding off the runway.
Skidding off the runway is an event in which an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway surface during either take-off or landing.
The most recent incident was withe Dana Air aircraft in April.
In November 2023, two aircraft from two different airlines skidded off the runway in one week.
Aero Contractors, flight NG 119 with a registered Boeing 737 aircraft 5N-BYQ from Lagos to Abuja had a total of 133 passengers on board.
All passengers were safely evacuated through a controlled disembarkation.
The same week, an aircraft operated by ValueJet Airline slipped on a taxi turn after landing and cleared off the runway at Port Harcourt airport at 3.30 local time. No damage was done to the aircraft.
