Nigerian CAA grounds Azman Air amid safety audit

Azman Air (AZM, Kano) has been forced to suspend commercial flight operations after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) grounded its B737 fleet on Tuesday, March 16. In a statement, the regulator said the suspension would allow it to conduct an audit of the carrier following a series of incidents involving its aircraft. “The NCAA regrets the inconvenience this action may cause to the public, particularly to Azman Air passengers, but the need to ensure the safety of air transport and protect the public interest cannot be compromised,” it said. The privately-owned carrier’s fleet entails two B737-300s and four B737-500s used to service a network of domestic Nigerian cities. Its sole widebody, an ex-Virgin Atlantic A340-600, has been undergoing type certification trials with the NCAA in recent days. In February, Azman’s B737-500 5N-SYS (msn 28565) suffered a tire burst on landing on runway 18R at Lagos. While no injuries onboard were reported, the incident was rated as serious by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) Nigeria. Azman Air has since confirmed the grounding but gave no indication as to when it would be allowed to resume commercial flights.