Lack of heavy equipment by construction giants, Julius Berger Plc, on Friday, stalled the removal of DHL Boeing 727 cargo aircraft that crashed in Lagos on Thursday.
Aviation sources told Saturday Independent that the company has promised to evacuate the aircraft on today.
Contacted yesterday, Managing Director of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Roland Iyayi, said he was not in Lagos, but added that information at his disposal indicated that the aircraft was still at the crash scene.
He said there was no cause for alarm because positive steps were being taking to remove the aircraft.
Also, the General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Niyi Ajakaiye, said Julius Berger had promised to get the required equipment to remove the aircraft today.
Meanwhile, fire fighters from the Nigerian Air Force and FAAN were still keeping watch over the ill-fated aircraft when Saturday Independent visited the scene on Friday.
The Boeing 727 cargo aircraft had crashed on Thursday and damaged the Localizer on Runway 36N of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport. The accident led to the closure of Runway 18L.
The aircraft with South African registration number (Z5 DPF), which flew into Lagos from Accra, Ghana, crashed at about 1.05 p.m. after overrunning the runway.
Consequently, it suffered a substantial damage as it got its nose gear sheared off and rested on its nose and two main landing gears.
Iyayi, who briefed journalists after inspecting the ill-fated aircraft, said all the three crew on board survived and that they had been moved to the headquarters of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) awaiting accident investigators for an initial interview.
He said the Accident Investigations and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) had been contacted over the accident.
Iyayi said members of the AIPB were expected at the scene of the accident after which a preliminary investigation would be conducted.
“It is expected that once this is concluded and the aircraft evacuated by tomorrow (Friday) the Runway 18L will be re-opened again. The Localizer on the Runway 36N of the Runway has been damaged, and NAMA is making immediate arrangement to recover spares from the stores, and it is hoped that by Monday we would have replaced the damaged Localizer,” Iyayi said.
He stressed that all the navigational aids at the airport on Runway 18L were fully functional to ensure that aircraft could still come in and land safely.
“The aircraft did not skid off the runway. The aircraft had a positive landing, but it is speculative to say what really went wrong. But what we can say safely is that the aircraft landed but overran the runway. Until investigations are concluded, it will be ill-advised to speculate at this point”, the NAMA boss emphasised.
Asked if the rainfall in Lagos on Thursday could be responsible for the crash, Iyayi said he did not want to speculate, but Demuren interjected, saying the rainfall could be a contributory factor.