The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, says fan blade failure is responsible for the Arik Air’s emergency landing at the Benin Airport on February 11 this year from Lagos to Port Harcourt airport.
According to the preliminary report by the NSIB, investigators say early findings point to a catastrophic fan blade failure inside the number one engine
Inspection after landing revealed that one of the engine’s fan blades had broken off, while the remaining blades were badly damaged.
The failure the report revealed also caused significant damage to the engine casing and parts of the aircraft’s wing and tail.
The safety bureau says further metallurgical examination of the broken fan blade and the engine components will determine the exact cause of the failure as investigations continue.
Passengers aboard an Arik Air Boeing 737 narrowly avoided disaster after a serious engine failure forced the aircraft to make an emergency diversion to Benin City.
According to a preliminary report the aircraft, registered 5N-MJF, was en route from Lagos to Port Harcourt on the morning of February 11 when the crew heard a loud bang during climb at about 26,000 feet.
The explosion was immediately followed by severe vibration and grinding noise from the aircraft’s left engine, forcing the pilots to shut it down and declare a Mayday.
Despite the emergency, the crew maintained control of the aircraft and diverted to Benin Airport, where the plane landed safely with 80 passengers and seven crew members on board.
No injuries were reported.
Reporting By Nosa Aituamen