Arik grounds two aircraft after ground collision

Arik grounds two aircraft after ground collision 20 Oct 2015 9:27 PM Two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft, belonging to Arik Air, were grounded by the carrier on Tuesday afternoon after they were involved in a ground collision at the tarmac of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. According to the airline, nobody was hurt as a result of the incident, which happened in the afternoon at the General Aviation Terminal of the MMA. Arik Air’s spokesperson, Mr. Ola Adebanji, said the incident happened when one of the aircraft was on its way to embark on a scheduled flight. He said the aircraft’s wing brushed that of another plane belonging to the carrier, adding that the situation was adequately handled by the firm’s team. Adebanji, in a statement, said, “Two of our aircraft, Boeing 737-800NG, were this (Tuesday) afternoon involved in a wing-tip brush at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. “One of the aircraft, 5N-MJP, was marshalled out of the ramp for a scheduled flight when its wing brushed that of another aircraft, 5N-MJQ, parked on the ramp. There were no incidences as the safety of passengers was not jeopardised. We have grounded the two aircraft and are looking into the incident.” When contacted, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, told our correspondent that it was mandatory for the airline to file a Mandatory Occurrence Reporting to the authority, telling it of the incident. Although, he stated that he had yet to be briefed on the incident as of the time of filing this report, Adurogboye stated that it was expected of the carrier to report the incident to the NCAA for appropriate action.