By Ayo Kehinde
No fewer than 53 air passengers and crew members on board Max Air narrowly escaped death as the local aircraft crash-landed at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Tuesday night.
The Boeing 737-4D7 Max Air with registration number 5N-MBD, B733 crash-landed at 10.57 p.m. after overshooting the runway and eventually losing its landing gear tyre.
The aircraft, which returned from Lagos via Abuja before the incident struck, left passengers crippled in panic, with an emergency exit used to calm the palpable fear.
Tunde Moshood, the Special adviser on media and communications to Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and development, said in a post on X, that the aircraft has been removed from the runway.
“The disabled MaxAir 5NMBD that had a burst tyre on landing yesterday has been removed from the runway. Sweeping of the runway is ongoing, and NOTAM will be cancelled after inspection. Runway 06/24 is now open for normal operations”, he said.
Max Air said in a statement posted on its official X page on Wednesday, that its crew members handled the situation professionally to ensure the safe evacuation of all passengers and crew members.
“We wish to inform the public that one of our aircraft experienced an incident upon landing in Kano yesterday. There were no injuries, and the aircraft has since been removed from the runway as of 04:28″, it said
The airline said the Kano runway will remain temporarily closed for inspection and clearance, which may lead to some delays in flight operations on Wednesday.
“Our Max Air engineering team continues to demonstrate excellence in handling such situations. We will keep you informed on the status of flight schedules”, it added.
It is the second time within a month that a Max Air aircraft is experiencing an emergency landing in the country. On December 5, 2024, a Max Air aircraft, VM1623, with registration number 5N-BBM, had an emergency landing at Muhammadu Buhari International Airport in Maiduguri after an engine fire incident.
