American pilot barred from Nigerian airspace after Asaba road landing

The NCAA has banned the American pilot who landed a private jet on an uncompleted road at Asaba Airport last month from flying in Nigeria, and suspended the aircraft’s First Officer pending investigation.

Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, confirmed the action Thursday on the sidelines of the Airport Business Summit in Lagos.

The aircraft—a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A with U.S. registration N989BC, operated by VMO Aero Limited—mistook a roadway for the runway on June 10. Seven people, including four crew and three passengers, were on board.

Najomo said the NCAA took enforcement action after the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) completed its safety probe and handed the regulatory side to the authority.

The pilot-in-command has been removed from flight duties in Nigeria and banned from the country’s airspace. The plane remains grounded, with its Permit for Non-Commercial Flight suspended.

“It is still under investigation,” Najomo said. “NSIB has handed it over to us, and we are doing our own work.”

He added that the Department of State Services (DSS) has also joined the inquiry, a sign of how seriously authorities are treating the incident.

“I have been a pilot for 45 years. I will not see a road and land on it. So we are looking at other motives,” he said.

Najomo assured stakeholders that the NCAA would carry out a thorough and transparent probe and impose appropriate sanctions.

The NSIB’s preliminary report last week said the jet damaged its left nose-wheel assembly after landing on a construction site instead of the runway. The flight had originated from Lagos and was making a second approach to Runway 11 after aborting the first.