By Bill W. Cooper
The deplorable condition of the Roberts International Airport (RIA) runway has caused an excursion involving a Royal Air Maroc 737 flight during a recent storm and rain early on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
The incident, according to sources reportedly occurred while the flight was landing, but got veered off the runway due to some unknown reason; thankfully, all passengers and crew members on board the flight were reported safe, leaving several passengers and residents in total panic and disbelief.
Runway excursion is a veer off or overrun off the runway surface during takeoff or landing that according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), may happen due to a runway problems, poor visibility, bad weather and aircraft or pilot fault.
Meanwhile, in response to the alleged excursion, the government through the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) said it has, with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the matter.
The LCAA, in a release issued later Saturday evening said, “The LAA wishes to inform the public of an incident involving Royal Air Maroc flight which occurred on the early morning of Saturday, August 17, 2024 at about 0515 HRS.”
According to the LCAA, “The Boeing 737-800 Series aircraft, with flight number AT-567 landed at the Roberts International Airport, taxied and docked unto the Jetway without any reported incident.”
“However, during routine inspection of the aircraft prior to departure, in keeping with standards and recommended practices, it was observed that the aircraft had picked up significant debris that precipitated further inspections.
“As a result, the airport Safety Compliance team inspected the runway and observed that portion of the runway pavement shoulders had been damaged with huge debris along the runway,” the statement noted.
The LCAA further narrated, “Upon receipt of this information, the LAA management immediately contacted the airline crew, through the aircraft engineer, about the situation and that the aircraft remain grounded until further instructions, whilst the LCAA and AAIB were contacted.”
The LCAA, in its release also mentioned, “Inspections teams from both LCAA and AAIB were dispatched to the airport and visited the incident scene, along with the Minister of Transport, for further observations.”
“It was observed that the aircraft had landed safely but veered off the runway resulting to no injury to passengers, no structural damage to aircraft and no fatality. It is important to note that passengers on board the aircraft were unaware of the incident.
Departing passengers were then hosted in nearby hotels awaiting another Royal Air Maroc flight out of the airport scheduled to come later during the day but the circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated by the LCAA and AAIB,” LCAA added.
The release asserted, “Whilst the aircraft is being grounded until further notice, and as the investigation is ongoing, further updates will be made available as new information arises and LAA remains committed to maintaining the highest safety standards of passengers and aircraft.”
It can be recalled that prior to the Saturday’s incident, a Liberian, Elpaulay Jackson, who came to the country aboard a Brussels airline alarmed over the poor visibility at the RIA, especially during the night time.
He revealed that it is something that resulted into a tough landing for the aircraft, and thereby warned that there could be a future disaster if nothing was done about the situation.
In 2022, under the management of Martin Hayes, the airport faced operational constraints, particularly with nighttime lighting, posing risks to passengers, including then-President George Manneh Weah.
Also, on March 9, 2022, former President Weah and other officials encountered darkness upon their return from the United Arab Emirates, where they participated in EXPO DUBAI 2020.
20 days later, travelers again were compelled to use the torch of their respective phones to provide light in the terminals at the airport, as a video, which went viral on social media, showed the travelers complaining and expressing serious frustration over the “disgraceful” situation while awaiting their respective flights for departure along with their luggage.
One of the continent’s popular airliners, Royal Air Maroc, at the time was compelled to abort landing at the RIA dark runways; the flight attempted landing several times by using the navigation system, but was not successful.
In 2023 also, the US Embassy in Monrovia issued a statement saying it was aware of several recent audits of RIA, all of which revealed significant shortcomings in the airport safety, security, and operational standards.
The US government warned that the RIA was becoming less safe as a result of lapses in the airport safety, security, and emergency standards, and added that the failure of the country’s only international airport to pass several compliance audits raises concern about the safety of the airport and incoming flights and passengers.
In February of this year, the management of the RIA also issued an apology for disruption in the supply of electricity at the airport, and attributed the situation to technical glitches being experienced by its primary and secondary power sources.
The statement intoned, “The Management of the RIA informs the public, airlines and port users of technical glitches being experienced by its primary and secondary power Sources.”
“Management is making frantic efforts to restore power supply in the earliest and will provide regular updates as to the progress being made. Management regrets the inconveniences caused by this incident,” the statement added.
