Air Peace aircraft suffers damage at Lagos airport

Air Peace Boeing 777 aircraft. Photo credit : Air Peace

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A newly acquired Embraer 195-E2 aircraft belonging to Air Peace was damaged on Friday following a ground handling incident at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The incident occurred after passengers had completed boarding, when a luggage conveyor belt vehicle operated by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company reportedly collided with one of the aircraft’s engines.

This was confirmed in a statement issued by the airline on Friday.

According to the statement, the aircraft, registered as 5N-BYH, was scheduled to operate Flight P47750 from Lagos to Accra at the time of the incident.

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, also said in a post on his X handle that the aircraft was expected to serve nine sectors, but with the latest development, passengers across those sectors may now experience delays.

Air Peace said the collision caused visible damage to the aircraft, resulting in a dent and tear on the thrust reverser cowling, a component of the engine cover.

The statement added, “In line with aviation safety procedures, an immediate technical assessment was carried out, leading to the grounding of the aircraft. All passengers already on board were asked to disembark, causing delays and disruptions to scheduled operations.”

The airline further said the Embraer 195-E2 involved is part of its new fleet acquisitions, making the damage particularly significant.

The airline lamented that beyond passenger inconvenience, the incident also has “financial implications, as repairs involving modern aircraft engines are known to be capital-intensive. Earlier in the year, a similar engine cowling damage incident cost the airline about $3.5m to repair.”

Achimugu appealed to passengers to remain calm, noting that the incident was not the airline’s fault.

He also confirmed that the airline had suffered related damages in the past, expressing hope that insurance would cover the losses.

He said, “Air Peace has suffered a lot of these technical issues through no fault of theirs. We need to start naming and shaming poorly trained ground handling personnel whose inefficiency costs airlines significant reputational, financial and technical damage. We will now be looking to strengthen regulations in a way that also heavily sanctions service providers for incidents like this.

“Airlines should not be held responsible for situations like this, and passengers should be informed honestly about the reasons for disruptions caused by these unfortunate scenarios. I do hope that there is enough insurance to cover the cost of losses like this one.”

He added, “In advance, I call for the understanding of passengers who were scheduled to fly this aircraft. I have asked about standby aircraft. The airline has two, which is commendable, but they have been deployed to cover two other similar situations. In any case, even if they were available, their seating capacities are less than that of the damaged E2.”

Efforts to speak with the spokesperson for NAHCO, Tayo Ajakaye, were unsuccessful, as he neither picked calls nor responded to text messages seeking comment.

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