The winglet of Air Peace aircraft marked 5N-BQR collided with the winglet of a stationary aircraft marked 5N-BQP belonging to the airline and parked at the general aviation terminal in Lagos.
Confirming the incident, the airline’s spokesman, Mr. Christian Iwarah, said the two aircraft involved had been grounded for checks, repair and proper investigation of the incident.
He said the aircraft was being towed to the ramp at the general aviation terminal in Lagos when it rammed into the winglet of another immobile aircraft owned by Air Peace.
“We confirm that at about 6.15am today (Thursday), the winglet of our B737 aircraft with registration mark 5N-BQR, which was being towed within the very limited space at the ramp of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos to position for departure, had a partial contact with the stabiliser of another of our B737 aircraft with registration mark 5N-BQP.
“Although the points of contact of the two aircraft were only slightly impacted, we took the cautious decision to declare them unserviceable to enable proper investigation of the incident, checks and repair by our engineering and maintenance department in line with our high safety standards.
“There were no passengers on the two aircraft involved in the incident. We have also revised our flight schedule to cater for our esteemed guests on the 14 sectors the two aircraft were scheduled to service today.
“At the moment, everything is working according to plan and our engineers have already begun repair of the aircraft,” said Iwarah.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said the two aircraft would be re-certified before they return to the skies.
“The incident has been reported to NCAA. We are looking into it. However, the two aircraft will have to be repaired and re-certified by the authority before they can return to service,” said the spokesman for NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye in a text message sent to newsmen.
