Runway Closed as Azman Aircraft Tyre Bursts on Landing At MMIA

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria  announced a temporary closure of Runway 18R/36L at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

The closure is due to a landing incident involving a Boeing 737 Azman Air aircraft with registration 5N SYS, and flight number ZQ2325. The aircraft had a tyre burst after landing on this runway.

According to the report Major accident was averted yesterday when Azman Air flight coming from Abuja landed and bursted one of its tyres at the 18L runway of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

No casualty was recorded among the over 100 passengers on board the flight, as they were quickly evacuated.

The aircraft could not move from the runway after the incident, forcing subsequent flights to be delayed and later diverted to the international runway, known as 18R.

The incident involved a Boeing 737-500 with registration number 5N-SYS, named Sani Yunusa Sarina.

Eyewitness account said the busted tyre, which was “in tatters,” forced complete closure of the domestic runway and delay of flights, as airlines waited to be rescheduled to the use of Runway 18R by the Air Traffic Controllers.

Eyewitness disclosed that fire service men of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) were on ground to immediately evacuate the passengers to protect them from possible fire eruption in the aircraft.

Also all passengers and crew on board the aircraft were safely evacuated at 1908 hours, and officials of FAAN Air Rescue, AIB and NAHCO are already working to ensure the aircraft is towed out of the runway, so as to restore normalcy.

Efforts to contact the Chairman of Azman Air, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa, were not successful as he did not respond to the calls.

February 17, 2021