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Thieves get into an Arik Air plane and steal $300,000 worth of equipment.
A Boeing 737-73V belonging to Arik Air, with registration number EI-ULN, was burgled and its flight management system was taken at the domestic terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
From pre-engine start and take-off until landing and engine shutdown, the FMS is a computer that provides virtual data and operational harmony between closed and open elements connected to a flight.
According to the Sun Newspaper, the incident occurred between the late hours of Wednesday, January 19 and the early hours of Thursday, January 20, resulting in flight cancellations and delays.
“The plane was parked on the tarmac at MM2, and someone gained access to the electrical electronic base, which houses all of our systems,” says the pilot. There is a door underneath the airplane that they accessed and gained access to in order to remove the FMC, which is why our operations were hampered that day.
We expect the CCTV to be turned on and capture whoever committed the crime, but we haven’t heard anything to that effect. The stolen equipment was small, but it was very expensive. As of 2021, it costs roughly $15,000 to repair and about $300,000 to replace.
Every item on an airplane has a serial number that can be tracked anywhere in the world, so I’m not sure how the thief plans to sell it unless they have a seller. That is why we suspect internal sabotage, according to a source.
