Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced investigation on the viral Helicopter that landed between Benin and Ore highway to pick up unidentified persons.
The General Manager Public Relations, Sam Adurogboye, in a press release said the agency is fully aware and the initial reports indicated that the Helicopter is owned by Tropical Arctic Logistics Ltd.
The registration number is 5N – BVQ and aircraft type AW139.
The Pilot was compelled to land between Benin and Ore in an unscheduled diversion to pick up someone.
NCAA has commenced full scale investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the unscheduled diversion.
As soon as the investigation is concluded, the outcome will be made public.
However reacting in a statement, the airline operators said the chopper embarked on “emergency medical evacuation” to save a life, and got clearance from the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), saying it did not breach any aviation regulation in its bid to conduct “life-saving operations”.
The statement signed by TAL’s Chief Operating Officer, Engr. Femi Adeniji, said the company was surprised at the “undue outrage” the airline’s action was gaining globally.
Full Statement,
“We wish to state that our mission for that flight was to save lives, we immediately swung into action and rushed to the site in record time to pick the individual who is currently recuperating in the hospital.
“We are a licensed logistics company to carry out medical evacuation operations and was engaged to airlift an individual who suffered a serious health challenge while caught in traffic and needed emergency evacuation on the day in question.
“The Benin–Ore road evacuation was conducted in close collaboration with security agencies , the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police worked assiduously in trying to clear the gridlock caused by the on going road construction.
“They directed us to a clear portion of the road where the operation was handled free from any incident.”
