- Qatar Airways accelerates fleet-wide Starlink rollout on 150 wide-body aircraft
- Tailwinds, late touchdown, inoperative autobrake preceded Benin airport runway overrun
- NSIB running on deficit budgets over NIMASA, NRC non-compliance
- Dangerous Game: Overwritten cockpit recorders, threat to air safety
- United Nigeria Airlines Injects N20m to Rescue Chinua Achebe Fiction Prize for 10 Years
Tailwinds, late touchdown, inoperative autobrake preceded Benin airport runway overrun
- NSIB issues four critical advisories over Benin airport runway overrun
- ATC line of sight obstructed, missing runway condition reports in Benin incident
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has released its preliminary report on the runway excursion involving an Embraer ERJ 170-100LR aircraft operated by Enugu Air Limited at the Oba Akenzua II Airport in Benin, Edo State.
The incident, which occurred on 23 July 2026 at about 14:55 local time, involved the scheduled passenger flight ENU4264 operating from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
All 68 persons on board—63 passengers and five crew members—evacuated uninjured via the rear left emergency slide (L2), though the aircraft sustained substantial structural damage.
Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) data indicated that the flight crew expressed concern over rain in the vicinity during arrival.
During the approach briefing, the First Officer stated that the autobrake system was inoperative, requiring the crew to rely on manual braking.
The aircraft crossed the Runway 05 threshold at a radio altitude of approximately 93.5 feet and touched down deep about 1,641.5 metres past the threshold at a groundspeed of 138.2 knots, with the Captain calling for “max reversal.”
Wind observations derived from the probe indicated a tailwind component during approach and touchdown.
The review of Air Traffic Control (ATC) communications revealed that no Runway Condition Report (RCR) or Runway Condition Code (RWYCC) had been transmitted to the crew.
An uncompleted structure located beyond Runway 05 (Runway 23 threshold end) obstructed the Benin control tower’s direct line of sight to that section of the aerodrome
After overrunning the runway end, the regional jet entered the unpaved stopway, striking seven approach lighting installations and two concrete structures tied to a decommissioned localizer system.
Field evidence showed the nose landing gear broke off first, followed sequentially by the right and left main landing gears.
Both engines contacted the terrain, leaving 87.0 metres (right engine) and 82.6 metres (left engine) of ground drag marks before the airframe stopped approximately 325 metres past the runway end.
In addition to total gear separation, the aircraft suffered a fragmented right engine cowling, ruptured horizontal stabiliser, abraded lower forward fuselage skin, and ruptured ailerons and flaps on both wings.
The NSIB issued four urgent safety recommendations (A-2026-039 through A-2026-042) addressed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
The recommendations target aerodrome runway-end safety environments, ATC line-of-sight clearing, and real-time runway meteorological reporting.
Director-General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., emphasised that the investigation is actively ongoing with further technical examinations underway, reiterating that the bureau’s sole objective is accident prevention rather than apportioning blame or legal liability.
