Private Jet Mistakenly Lands on Highway Under Construction Near Nigerian Airport
A private jet made an extraordinary landing on a highway under construction near Asaba Airport in Nigeria on Wednesday June 10, raising serious questions about how the aircraft ended up touching down nearly a kilometer away from the intended runway.
The aircraft involved was a Bombardier Challenger CL-600 business jet, carrying American registration N989BC, operating a flight from Lagos to Asaba. According to flight-tracking data, the aircraft approached Asaba Airport around 07:30 UTC and descended to approximately 7,000 feet while preparing to land on Runway 11.
It is common for private jets owned by Nigerian individuals or companies and based in Nigeria to be registered in the United States.
The first landing attempt was abandoned, possibly because the aircraft was too high on approach. The jet subsequently performed a 360-degree turn, appeared to begin another approach, but then broke off again and flew westward.
At approximately 07:48 UTC, the Challenger turned back toward the east for a second attempt to land. However, instead of touching down on Runway 11, the aircraft landed on a highway that is currently under construction. The road runs roughly parallel to the runway and is located about 800 meters south of the airport’s landing strip.
The aircraft landed at approximately 07:57 UTC. Video footage recorded by construction workers showed the jet on the unfinished roadway while its two passengers disembarked.
Remarkably, the incident did not end there. Around 10:00 UTC—just over two hours after landing—the aircraft departed from the same roadway, taking off in a westerly direction before returning safely to Lagos.
A video of the aircraft can be seen here.
The circumstances strongly suggest that the event was not an emergency landing caused by a technical malfunction. Had the aircraft suffered a significant mechanical problem, it is unlikely that it would have been able to depart again only two hours later. A more plausible explanation is that the flight crew mistakenly identified the highway under construction as the airport runway.
The aircraft is registered in the United States. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records list the owner as BEST AIRCRAFT DEALS LLC. The company is known for providing aircraft registration services to non-U.S. owners who wish to place their aircraft on the American register. Such arrangements can offer administrative advantages, including a degree of privacy regarding the aircraft’s beneficial owner and, in some cases, increased resale value due to the aircraft’s U.S. registration.
Following the incident, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended the operator’s Permit for Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF). The regulator stated that the action was taken in response to what it described as an emergency landing on a roadway near Asaba in Delta State.
An investigation is expected to determine how an experienced business jet crew came to land on a construction site instead of the airport runway located only a short distance away.
