Passengers aboard Arik 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.”
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