By Chinelo Obogo, Lagos
The Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, and 139 other passengers were aboard a Max Air aircraft when it suffered a bird strike incident at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, on Tuesday afternoon.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 aircraft with the registration number 5N: BBM, departed Kano for Abuja airport at 1:21pm, but 10 minutes after take off, it made an air return when three engine blades were attacked by birds.
The pilot-in-command was said to have later informed the passengers about the nature of the incident and returned to base to disembark the passengers.
Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Capt Musa Nuhu confirmed the incident to reporters, saying that the incident is similar to the one that happened to Aero Contractors aircraft on Monday in Port Harcourt.
He explained that NCAA had immediately called for a meeting with the managements of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to deliberate on how such occurrence could be curbed in the future, stressing that bird strike could cause grave damage to aircraft.
‘We are meeting with FAAN and NAMA on this issue of bird strike,’ he said.