[Source: Supplied]

An incident involving a runway overrun at Gau Aerodrome yesterday morning has been classified as an accident.

This has been confirmed by Minister for Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka.

Gavoka states that upon landing at Gau Aerodrome, the aircraft landed beyond the designated area and sustained significant damage after colliding with a rock mound at the runway’s end.

He adds that both crew members and three passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft, with no injuries reported.

The Minister states that immediate emergency response procedures were activated.

Gavoka says that under Section 12 of the Civil Aviation (Occurrence Reporting and Investigation) Regulation 2009, an Aircraft Accident Investigator has been identified to conduct a thorough investigation.

He also emphasizes that their primary objective is accident prevention rather than assigning blame or liability.