50 Passengers Disembark Unhurt As Fire Guts Plane Tyres in Port Harcourt

• 50 passengers were rescued as the aircraft tyres of a Dana Air plane caught fire at Port Harcourt Airport
• The plane aborted its take-off at Port Harcourt on flight #9J344 to Lagos due to what the pilot said was an anomaly in the cockpit
• Due to excessive braking smoke, fire erupted from the tires which was extinguished while reaching the ramp

Omagwa - There was tension at Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa when the tyres of a Dana Air plane heading for Lagos caught fire.

Daily Trust newspaper reports that the 50 passengers on board the aircraft were immediately evacuated as the pilot aborted takeoff.

However, all the aboard were safely disembarked.

Dana Air reacts, says passenger safety remains its priority

A statement posted on Twitter by Dana Air spokesman, Kingsley Ezenwa, confirmed the incident.

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Part of the statement read:

“Our aircraft with registration number 5N JOY operating flight 9J 344 from Port Harcourt to Lagos on 2nd of May 2022, was set to take off when the pilot in command noticed an anomaly which he queried with the Air Traffic Control before embarking on a ramp return in line with our strict safety operating procedures.

“However, the impact on the brakes as a result of the aborted take-off affected the aircraft tyres which sparked off while the aircraft was taxiing to repark

“All 50 passengers onboard the aircraft disembarked safely and our maintenance team have immediately grounded the aircraft pending the conclusion of their investigations.

“Once again, we sincerely apologize to all the passengers on the flight for the inconveniences caused due to the eventual cancellation of the flight.”

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Lagos-bound Dana Airplane makes emergency landing over bad weather

Legit.ng had previously reported that a Dana Air aircraft heading to Lagos on Wednesday, February 23, allegedly developed a fault midair and was forced to make an emergency landing in Abuja.

Although the said fault was not ascertained at the time of the incident, the pilot reportedly told passengers during the flight that the plane could not get to its destination.

After the emergency landing, the pilot said he took the decision for safety reasons.

Car nearly collides with Dana plane carrying 157 passengers on airport runway

Recall that a national disaster was avoided a few days before the 2021 Christmas holiday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport when a vehicle operated by the Nigeria Customs Service nearly slammed into a Dana Air plane about to take flight.

The incident occurred at the Runway 18L of the airport on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

Dana Air MD 83 plane with registration number 5N JOY was departing Lagos airport for Enugu with a total of 157 passengers and seven crew members on board when the incident occured.

Source: Legit.ng