NSIB Reports Overwritten Black Box in Asaba Jet Incident

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) announced that the flight data recorder, or black box, of the Bombardier Challenger 601 private jet operated by VMO Aero was overwritten before investigators could examine it. This incident occurred on July 10 when the jet missed the airport runway and landed on a concrete road in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

NSIB Director-General Alex Badeh stated during a virtual media briefing that the aircraft was flown back to Lagos without clearance from Air Traffic Control, which resulted in the overwriting of crucial flight data. The flight crew was arrested upon arrival in Lagos and handed over to the Department of State Services for further investigation.

Badeh noted that the black box recorded only about two hours of low-quality data, and emphasized that investigators are still working to determine the circumstances of the incident. He cautioned against concluding that the operators deliberately destroyed evidence, indicating that the NSIB had previously reminded operators to preserve data.