An Air Peace aircraft operating a domestic flight from Lagos on Saturday ran into and killed a straying antelope on the runway, although it landed safely.It was gathered that the incident, which happened at the Asaba Airport on Saturday, temporarily delayed other flights to allow for safety inspections on the aircraft and the removal of the animal’s body from the runway.
The director of public affairs and consumer protection for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident in a statement on X on Sunday.
Mr Achimugu said, “Monitoring reports yesterday indicated that an Air Peace aircraft ran into a large antelope, decimating the animal and leaving the aircraft AOG (aircraft on ground).”
Mr Achimugu said incidents like that usually disrupt flight operations, leaving waiting passengers infuriated while engineers on ground assess and fix the plane.
He said, “Incidents like this are literal illustrations of the disruptions NOT caused by the airlines (domestic or international). This explainer is for illustration purpose, not to excuse airlines when they fail to do their duties to passengers.
“Even with situations like this, the airline still owes its passengers the information, refund, and other forms of care they are entitled to, and can still be sanctioned if they fail to provide same,” he added.
There was no report of injury or significant damage to the aircraft.
