From
The Guardian
A FOREIGN cargo airplane B777 belonging to Hydro Air cargo crashed yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos with no casualty. The aircraft had nine crew members on board.
The aircraft, with registration number Z-S00S, was said to be coming from Brussels, Belgium to Lagos, enroute Johannesburg when it crashed on the closed 1/9 right runway of the airport.
The runaway was closed to traffic last week Tuesday, so that it could undergo re-surfacing.
The Guardian gathered that the crash occurred at about 2.35am with the pilot and crew members of the ill-fated aircraft suffering minor shock and were later interviewed by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) of the Ministry of Aviation.
The permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Aviation, Mr. Tomi Oyelade who visited the scene of the crash confirmed to journalists that no life was lost in the crash.
He said that the accident investigators arrived immediately at the scene of the crash, stressing that they had commenced investigations.
According to him: "the cause of the accident shall be made known as soon as investigation is completed."
The Guardian also learnt from a top official of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) that the aircraft wanted to make a stop over in Lagos to discharge some cargo, refuel and go back to Johannesburg when it crashlanded on the runaway.
Journalists were barred from going to the site of the crash, as airport authorities cited security reasons. Aviation sources have surprise over the crash.
But the spokesman for NAMA, Mr. Ben Goong who also confirmed the closure of the bad runway said that foreign and domestic airlines were notified on the bad runway, advising them to take the alternative ones.
He however informed that the AIPB has met with the crew of the airline and interviewed them to unravel why the aircraft landed on the bad runway.
He commended the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) fire fighters who quickly rushed to the scheme in case there was fire outbreak.
The insurance company, Hydro Air Cargo, owners of the aircraft, have already arrived to check the extent of damage to the aircraft.
The ministry of Aviation has suspended the air traffic controller on duty on the day of the crash.
It would be recalled that a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft belonging to M.K Airlines swirled and crashed in IPO village about 700 metres from the Port Harcourt International Airport almost two years ago.
The Boeing 747-200, operated by the United Kingdom-based airlines, crashed while trying to land in the coastal city of Port Harcourt. The crew was made up of Britons and Americans.
The aircraft had left Luxembourg for Johannesburg in South Africa via Port Harcourt.
Among those who visited the scene of the accident yesterday were the managing directors of NAMA, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed, FAAN, Alhaji Sani Baba and the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Mr. Fidelix Onyeyiri
for 777 read 747 and
this is what it use to look like