Nearly 10 days after the dramatic altercation between Comfort Emmanson, a passenger, and members of the Ibom Air crew, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it has launched a formal investigation into the incident, seeking to unravel the facts and determine what really transpired onboard.
Persecondnews reports that Emmanson, who was on board a Uyo to Lagos flight on Sunday, August 10, had in a viral video repeatedly slapped a purser with Ibom Air after she was told to switch off her phone before takeoff.
The airline banned her from flying on its aircraft and took her to court for assault.
Following the intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court discharged the case after Ibom Air withdrew the criminal complaints against her, and she was subsequently released.
Keyamo also ordered that the flight ban imposed on her be lifted and promised that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
In furtherance of this, 10 days after the incident, NCAA officials met with Julie Edwards, a crew member accused of masterminding the passenger’s ordeal, and other crew members directly involved in the incident, on Wednesday, August 20, in Abuja.
In a post shared by its publicist, Michael Achimugu, on his official X account on Thursday, August 21, the NCAA said its multidisciplinary team, comprising representatives from Aviation Security, Operations, Licensing, Training Standards, Legal and Consumer Protection, is working to ensure a comprehensive and unbiased review of the incident.
The post reads: “Yesterday in Abuja, the NCAA team met with Julie Edwards and other members of the crew involved in the Comfort Emanson incident as part of investigations into that event.
“The NCAA’s directorates of Aviation Security, Operations, Licensing, and Training Standards, Legal, and Consumer Protection are collaborating to ensure a proper conclusion to this investigation.”
Persecondnews reports that the embattled passenger, Emmanson, was also scheduled to meet with the authority later today, Thursday, August 21.
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