An Air Peace aircraft was forced to stop operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Saturday after it hit a large antelope while taxiing on the runway.
The animal was crushed on impact, and the plane was left grounded, which led to delays in some flights.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident on Sunday through his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
He wrote, “Monitoring reports yesterday indicated that an Air Peace aircraft ran into a large antelope, decimating the animal and leaving the aircraft AOG (aircraft on ground).”
He explained that the term “AOG” means the plane is out of service and cannot fly until it is checked and repaired. He added that passengers whose flights were affected would naturally feel upset.
“Incidents like this are literal illustrations of the disruptions NOT caused by the airlines,” he stated, noting that such situations are beyond the airline’s control.
However, Achimugu also made it clear that airlines must still fulfill their responsibilities.
“This explainer is for illustration purposes, not to excuse airlines when they fail to do their duties to passengers,” he said.
“Even with situations like this, the airline still owes its passengers the information, refund, and other forms of care they are entitled to, and can still be sanctioned if they fail to provide the same,” he added.
He said engineers were already working on the aircraft to fix it and bring it back into service as soon as possible.
The NCAA also assured the public that efforts were being made to avoid future runway incidents and ensure smoother flight operations.
