24/07/2026
Yesterday (23 July 2026), an Enugu Air Embraer E170, registered 5N-ENR and operating as Flight 4264 from Lagos to Benin, experienced a runway excursion after landing at Benin Airport. The aircraft overran the end of the runway and came to rest off the paved surface.
Thankfully, everyone on board was safely evacuated, and no injuries have been reported. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has commenced an investigation to determine what led to the occurrence.
As the news spread, I noticed many headlines and social media posts referring to it as a “plane crash.”
I understand why. Seeing an aircraft leave the runway is alarming.
But does a “runway excursion” automatically translate to “plane crash”?
Based on the information available so far, the aircraft experienced a runway excursion. This is an event where an aircraft unintentionally leaves the runway during takeoff or landing.
That can happen in two ways:
* The aircraft goes past the end of the runway (an overrun).
* The aircraft leaves the side of the runway (a veer-off).
Here’s is an important takeaway. A runway excursion describes what happened. It isn’t the final classification of the event.
In aviation, occurrences are classified as:
✈️ Incident: An occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation.
✈️ Serious Incident: An incident involving circumstances indicating there was a high probability of an accident, with examples including events such as a rejected takeoff on a closed runway, a near collision, or a runway overrun where the outcome could easily have been worse.
✈️ Accident: An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, or the aircraft sustains substantial damage or structural failure, or the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible.
At this stage, we know the aircraft experienced a runway excursion and that everyone on boa