Thieves raid Eznis Airways B737 at Lagos, Nigeria

A breach in security at Lagos Airport has resulted in thieves breaking into the cockpit of an Arik Air aircraft, B737-700 EI-ULN, leased from Mongolia’s Eznis Airways, and stealing its flight management system computer, local media reported. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Eznis Airways operates a fleet of two B737-700s, both of which currently have the Nigerian carrier as an ACMI customer. The owner and manager of EI-ULN, a 17.89-year-old Boeing twinjet, is Carlyle Aviation Partners. Sources at the airport and at Arik Air said that the incident happened overnight between January 19 and 20 at Terminal Two. The thieves also reportedly tampered with the pitot tube cover and other sensitive parts of the aircraft. The incident resulted in a number of the carrier’s flights being cancelled. However, according to Flightradar24 and RadarBox ADS-B data, the aircraft has since returned to service on routes between Lagos and Jos, Port Harcourt Omagwa, and Owerri. An aviation expert told the news agency SaharaReporters that the break-in could only have been performed by individuals with specialist aircraft technical skills.<br/>