Connect with us
Advertisement

Gist

Disaster Averted As Plane Flying From Ilorin To Lagos Catches Fire Mid-air

Published

on

FG Begins Probe Of Overland Aircraft’s Mid-air Engine Fire
Advertisement

An aircraft belonging to Overland Airways on Wednesday evening developed a major fault and caught fire mid-air during an Ilorin to Lagos flight.

Naija News understands the aircraft experienced an unusual high turbine temperature on one of its engines forcing the Pilot to declare an emergency during the flight.

The flight was said to be close to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos when the incident happened but the Pilot was able to successfully land the aircraft without any casualty.

Our correspondent gathered that when the Pilot observed the fault, he immediately reached out to the control tower of the airport declaring a ‘Mayday’ which is a distress signal.

Advertisement

This prompted the airport authorities to put together its emergency response team, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s fire services department.

Fortunately, the pilot was able to successfully land the ATR 42 aircraft with registration number is 5N-BRQ, which had 33 passengers on board on the international airport’s runway.

Confirming the incident, Overland Airways in a statement posted on its Twitter account in the early hours of Thursday commended the Pilot and crew for skillfully handling the situation.

Advertisement

It regretted the inconvenience passengers and the general public might have suffered as a result of the development.

The airline’s statement reads: “Overland Airways wishes to inform the general public that its flight OF1188 from Ilorin to Lagos experienced an unusual high turbine temperature on one of its engines today, Wednesday, June 15, 2022 around 7:50pm.

“This occurred in the approach phase of flight and the aircraft landed very safely as the crew skillfully implemented their standard procedures for such abnormal situations.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“All 33 passengers remained calm through the process and safely disembarked row by row in accordance with post-COVID-19 procedures after the aircraft came to a halt on the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos runway 18 Right. No passenger was hurt in any way.

“Overland Airways salutes the professional interventions of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Accident Investigation Bureau Nigeria (AIB-N) which were very prompt and reassuring.

“Overland Airways regrets any inconvenience to its passengers and assures the travelling public of its full commitment to the safety of its services and passengers.”