Nigerian authorities have suspended the operating certificate of the U.S. owner of a 1988 Challenger 601 after it landed on a road that is under construction and then took off again, allegedly without getting permission. The unusual drama began with a missed approach to nearby Asaba International Airport on Wednesday morning. For whatever reason, the crew elected to make a precautionary landing on the new concrete surface. Local reports say four crewmembers got off the plane and hitched a ride to the airport. It’s what happened next that drew the attention of Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority.
About three hours after the plane was left parked on the still-curing concrete, someone apparently came back to retrieve it. Video shot by a construction worker shows the plane stopped a few feet from the end of the concrete at the construction site. Whoever returned got the big jet turned around and took off in the opposite direction. They landed at their original destination. The plane is on the FAA registry as owned by Best Aircraft Deals LLC, based in Salt Lake City. That website shows no activity and the most recent Facebook post from its Daytona Beach location is from 2022. Nigerian reports say the plane is owned by a local church and that the 70-year-old pilot was arrested for breaking a pilot age limit of 65.
Well, I guess that’s one way to avoid customs, exorbitant landing fees and extraneous FBO charges. But it does make a good story. I’ll bet that happens a lot more than we are told.
If you’re gonna break one rule, might as well break ’em all.
But his sins were probably forgiven, since it’s a church… 😉
I don’t think that the Mormons do the priest and confessions thing.You must be referring to Catholics.
Didn’t see that it was a Mormon church.
And either way, I don’t know how all that really works.(IF it does) 🤔
I don’t know about their aviation capabilities, but when it comes to musical talent, the Mormons are second to none. I suspect that it carries over to aviation as well.
Was Willie Nelson Mormon?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Ggp3TJjuE&list=RDM6Ggp3TJjuE&start_radio=1
As much as I love Willie, I’m not convinced that he’d stack up against the combined forces of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
[And, damn! I loved seeing him with the Highwaymen.]
12 Dead Butler Missouri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqdIQWy9ReY