Private Jet Lands on Delta Road, Crew Detained; Keyamo Calls Incident a Regulatory and Security Breach

By Chinedu Eze

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo has condemned the incident at Asaba airport, where a private jet missed its approach and landed on a concrete road under construction in Ogwashi‑Uku, Delta State, calling it a serious breach of regulation and security.

On his verified X account, Keyamo said the aircraft returned to Lagos without the required regulatory approval and that the pilot failed to notify Air Traffic Control before take‑off, only doing so after the aircraft had become airborne.

The Minister explained that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) grounded the aircraft immediately upon its arrival in Lagos while the investigation proceeds.

The NCAA has placed the flight under regulatory review and is conducting further inquiries into the circumstances of the incident and the subsequent unauthorized departure.

The Authority is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, to ascertain the full details of the event.

Additionally, the NCAA has suspended the operator’s permit for Non‑Commercial Flight (PNCF).

As part of its statutory duties, the NCAA will review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance, and flight‑related records and will take further enforcement action in line with applicable aviation regulations.

Keyamo said he has spoken to relevant security agencies and “I have been assured that the crew are in their custody and they are assisting them with their investigation.”

“I have received reports of the private aircraft that conducted a missed approach at approximately 07:43 am local time this morning (yesterday) while attempting to land at Asaba airport and ended up landing on a concrete road still under construction in the Ogwashi‑Uku area, near Asaba. Happily, eye witnesses at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road. The aircraft had four crew members on board and there were no injuries to them,” the minister said.

“I am also informed that the aircraft subsequently departed the location at approximately 11:02 GMT and returned to Lagos without obtaining the requisite regulatory approval. I also understand that Air Traffic Control was notified only after the aircraft had become airborne. In other words, the aircraft had no clearance to take off again. We view this incident as a serious breach of regulations and security,” the minister added.