Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

Black box of crashed helicopter in P’Harcourt found, two passengers still missing 

A flight data recorder otherwise called back box of the helicopter that crashed in Rivers State two weeks ago has been recovered.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) confirmed this in a statement.

The helicopter operated by East Wind Aviation and hired by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited crashed on October 24 while travelling from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Port Harcourt.

The aircraft, carrying six passengers and two crew members, went down in the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima, off the coast of Calabar, around 11:22am.

A week later, the NSIB reported that a fifth body was recovered from the site of the crash.

In a statement on Friday, Bimbo Oladeji, NSIB director, public affairs and consumer protection, confirmed that the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the black box, were retrieved from the site.

Oladeji said the bureau, in collaboration with Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and other search and recovery partners, coordinated efforts with both local and international teams to locate and retrieve the bodies of the deceased and essential components necessary for a full investigation.

“The FDR and CVR, commonly referred to as the aircraft’s ‘black box,’ was retrieved early this morning,” Oladeji said.