NCAA Grounds Aircraft After Asaba Incident on June 10

On June 10, 2026, at approximately 7:43 AM local time, an incident involving a private aircraft occurred near Asaba, Nigeria. The aircraft reportedly missed its approach to land at the Ogwashi-Uku airport and subsequently took off without regulatory approval.

Michael Achimugu, the NCAA Director of Public Affairs, confirmed that all four crew members exited the aircraft safely, with no injuries reported. Following the incident, the NCAA disclosed that the aircraft later departed the site for Lagos without the necessary regulatory approval, which allegedly violated Nigerian civil aviation regulations.

Air traffic control had already been informed that the aircraft had taken off. As a result, the NCAA grounded the aircraft and suspended the operator's permit for non-commercial flights pending a comprehensive review of operational and maintenance records.

The NCAA is collaborating with the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to determine the circumstances surrounding the emergency landing and unauthorized departure.