The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has grounded a Rano Air aircraft with registration number 5N-BZY following an in-flight engine failure observed in one of its engines.

It made this known in a statement on Monday, June 30.

The aircraft en route to Kano-Sokoto flight noticed a smoke incident in its cabin and flight deck, creating tension amongst passengers and crew.

“The Rano aircraft 5N-BZY experienced a failure on its engine 1.

“Smoke was noticed in the cabin and flight deck. Oxygen masks were donned. The appropriate safety protocols were initiated on the ground for landing. Smoke dissipated. Pilot safely landed the aircraft without incident,” NCAA stated.

According to the statement, the NCAA Directorate of Airworthiness instructed that the aircraft 5N-BZY remain grounded until the conclusion of investigations.

It said the rescue aircraft to airlift passengers out of Sokoto had already boarded Abuja-Katsina passengers.

It noted that it would have created problems to deboard those passengers, stressing that the flight out of Sokoto was, therefore, cancelled.

“5N-BYZ is still on the ground with engineers working on it. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, prioritises safety.

“The records are clear. More advanced countries have worse air incidents than Nigeria because, here, flights will get cancelled if there is the slightest safety concern,” the NCAA added.

The ICIR reports that grounding an aircraft in the instance means preventing it from flying, typically due to technical issues, maintenance requirements, or regulatory reasons.

It reported an incident on April 23, 2024, where a Dana aircraft that skidded off the Lagos airport was grounded, and the Nigerian aviation authorities subsequently suspended the airline’s operations.