Air flight to Uyo from Abuja on Friday evening were gripped by fear and anxiety
as aerodrome light went off at the Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo as the aircraft which was already on
approach to the runway was forced to go up again as darkness descended on the
airport.
One of the petrified passengers graphically
narrated his experience and the timely calculation and action of the pilot who
took off after hovering for about 25 minutes waiting for the restoration of the
aerodrome light, before returning to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,
Abuja.
Narrating his experience to THISDAY, the passenger
said: “Earlier this evening (Friday), I boarded Arik Flight W3 533 to Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State. The flight was scheduled to depart Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, Abuja at 18.25 hours. We left about 7pm. By 21.35 hours, we were back
in Abuja without landing in Uyo. Exciting ride it’s been.
“On approach into Uyo airport with landing gear
fully engaged and less than 500 metres from the runway, the airport blacked
out. As he re-engaged the engines to go up, the pilot informed us that the
tower has told him there was a power outage at the airport. So they needed a
little time to switch to alternative source. So we were told. Meanwhile, aircraft
was in a holding pattern over Uyo. So we flew around and waited.
“After about 15 minutes, the pilot explained that
the man responsible for turning on the back-up power unit was about 10-15
minutes from the airport and had been reached. So he was on his way back to
switch it on. So we kept holding (hovering). Another 15 or so minutes later, we
were told the man has arrived, that power would come on shortly and that we
should expect to be down on the ground in Uyo in about 10 minutes. So we kept
holding. Then about another 15 minutes later, instead of losing altitude, we
began picking it up rapidly. Simultaneously, Uyo began receding rapidly from
beneath us.
“Shortly thereafter, the pilot told us the keys to
the power source for the alternative power unit were nowhere to be found and
the tower had told him they could not power up for him to land. So we were to
be returned to Abuja.
Gratefully, the evening was devoid of Uyo’s
potentially destructive thunder and rainstorm. So it is that we are back in
Abuja, safely.”
Reacting to the incident, Akwa Ibom State
Commissioner for Information Aniekan Umanah told THISDAY that the state
government suspected sabotage or human error or both and had set high powered
investigation into the matter.
Umanah explained that power at the airport was
knocked out earlier in the day due to thunderstorm but was rectified and that
at the time the Arik flight came, the pilot was apprised of the situation but
somehow the right thing was not done and that was why the state government suspected
human error and sabotage.
The commissioner noted that shortly after the pilot
decided to return to Abuja, electricity was restored and some flights arrived
later that night and since then there had been normal air operations at the
airport.
“What happened was human negligence and some form
of sabotage. The person in charge of the power supply locked the place but he
was not supposed to lock the place. The government of Akwa Ibom has initiated
high powered investigation into the incident.”
Umanah also said the Air Traffic Controllers on
duty organised people to open the generators facility to switch on the light,
“but the pilot had left based on his own exigencies. Adequate measures have
been put in place to prevent such from happening again.”
Source: Thisday
