Fly2Sky A320 at Lagos and Asaba on Nov 26th 2023, aircraft flew to wrong airport
Last Update: November 30, 2023 / 17:02:40 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Nov 26, 2023
Classification
Incident
Airline
Fly2Sky
Flight number
UN-504
Departure
Lagos, Nigeria
Destination
Abuja, Nigeria
Aircraft Registration
LZ-FSA
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
Passengers reported cabin crew welcomed them to Abuja, but to their astonishment they found themselves in Asaba about 160nm south of Abuja.
United Nigeria Airlines reported the aircraft diverted to Asaba due to weather conditions in Abuja, there was a miscommunication between (Nigerian) cabin crew and (Bulgarian) flight crew due to the language barrier causing the wrong announcement of arrival in Abuja. The aircraft subsequently continued to Abuja.
Air Traffic Controllers at Abuja reported the weather was fine all day and thus contradicted the statement by the airline.
Nigeria's DGCA opened an investigation, grounded the involved Fly2Sky Aircraft leased out to United Nigerian Airlines and the flight crew pending investigation. The DGCA stated the airline's explanation was "unacceptable".
Nigeria's Minister of Aviation stated: "There was no weather problem in Abuja yesterday it was a problem of a wet lease plane where the pilot and crew were all foreigners not Nigerians so they were not familiar with the Nigeria terrain. ... From the transcript we heard that tower kept asking the pilot to confirm again that you are going to Abuja not Asaba, the pilot replied no, Asaba. Before they took off the tower asked again and it was the same response."
According to local media there was a confusion between flights UN-504 to Abuja and flight UN-506 to Asaba departing about the same time. The flight crew was given the flight plan to Asaba rather than to Abuja.
On Nov 30th 2023 Fly2Sky reported: "On November 25, United Nigeria Airlines designated flight NUA 0504, from Lagos (DNMM/LOS) to Asaba (DNAS/ABB), with an initial booking for 124 passengers. Our Integrated Operational Control Center prepared the ATC flight plan in accordance with ICAO standards, and the crew received their briefing via the electronic flight bag (EFB) system. On November 26, 2023, at 14:05 UTC (15:05 local time), NUA 0504 departed on schedule with 150 passengers. There were no requests from United Nigeria Airlines to alter the flight plan during the crew's pre-flight briefing. Our partnership with United Nigeria Airlines includes the use of local cabin attendants as part of the wet/damp lease agreement, to enhance cultural familiarity and service compliance for United Nigeria Airlines passengers flying on Fly2Sky aircraft. Following the highest industry safety standards, Fly2Sky has conducted a thorough internal investigation in response to inquiries regarding the flight operations of November 26. The findings confirm that Fly2Sky Airlines operated within the full scope of regulatory and safety standards."
Metars Abuja:
DNAA 261100Z 30005KT 9999 FEW009 FEW019CB 24/22 Q1015 NOSIG=
DNAA 261000Z 26004KT 9999 TS SCT009 FEW020CB 24/23 Q1016 NOSIG=
DNAA 260900Z 17005KT 9999 TS SCT009 FEW020CB 23/22 Q1016 NOSIG=
DNAA 260700Z 0000KT 9999 -TSRA BKN008 FEW020CB 22/21 Q1015 TEMPO 1500 TSRA=
DNAA 260600Z 02009KT 3000 -TSRA BKN008 FEW020CB 20/19 Q1015 NOSIG=
DNAA 260500Z 00000KT 9999 TS FEW007 FEW020CB 20/19 Q1014 NOSIG=
No weather data are available for Asaba.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Nov 26, 2023
Classification
Incident
Airline
Fly2Sky
Flight number
UN-504
Departure
Lagos, Nigeria
Destination
Abuja, Nigeria
Aircraft Registration
LZ-FSA
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320
ICAO Type Designator
A320
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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