Rano airplane suffers engine failure, smoke in cabin, flight deck mid air

A Rano aircraft with registration number 5N-BZY experienced failure on its engine 1 as smoke was noticed in the cabin and flight deck.

Oxygen masks were donned. The appropriate safety protocols were initiated on the ground for landing. Smoke dissipated. The pilot safely landed the aircraft without incident.

The NCAA Directorate of Airworthiness instructed that the aircraft remain grounded until the conclusion of investigations.

The NCAA noted that the rescue aircraft that was to airlift passengers out of Sokoto had already boarded Abuja-Katsina passengers. It would have created problems to de-board those passengers. The flight out of Sokoto was, therefore, cancelled.

5N-BYZ is still on the ground with engineers working on it.

The aviation regulatory body said it prioritises safety, adding that the records are clear.

“More advanced countries have worse air incidents than Nigeria because, here, flights will get cancelled if there is the slightest safety concern.”

Wole Shadare