Wole Shadare 
Airline operations were disrupted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, yesterday after a B737 operated by Aero Contractors Airlines got its nose wheel stuck in the grass following a runway incursion incident. Many passengers were left stranded following the development.
The incident was said to have occurred around 10:47am when the aircraft upon landing at the airport from Lagos and in a bid to exit the runway via A4 had its nose wheel stuck in the grass verge with its fuselage on the runway
Consequently, the runway was closed pending the towing of the aircraft from the runway. The development forced planes on the descent to circle for a few minutes before taking the decision to divert to the nearest airports or back to base. A number of Abuja-bound planes were diverted to Kano. A ValueJet’s 11.20am flight was diverted to Kano while Dana Air’s Flight 9j335 returned to Lagos.
In a statement, the National Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said the runway was closed pending the towing of the aircraft from the runway. The Public Affairs and Consumer Protection Director, James Odaudu, said no one was injured.
The body said: “The NSIB is a multimodal investigation agency charged with the mandate to investigate transportation accidents and serious incidents in Nigeria with the aim of identifying the probable causes and proffer safety recommendations that can prevent reoccurrence.”
It said the accident investigative body would release the preliminary report soon.
