Arik passengers stranded in Ghana

About 40 Nigerians travelling to Dakar on Arik Air flight were left stranded on Sunday in Accra, Ghana when the captain refused to proceed to Dakar, Senegal.

Among the stranded passengers was a Nigerian professor of Geo-Physics Charles Ofoegbu.

The professor, whose wife was killed in the December 2005 Sosoliso crash in Port Harcourt, missed a 9am meeting in Dakar as a result of the incident, he told Daily Trust.

The pilot of the Boeing 700 Series aircraft took off in Abuja to Dakar via Accra. The pilot refused to proceed upon arriving Accra, citing fatigue, Prof. Ofoegbu said.

He told Daily Trust that apart from the aircraft not leaving Abuja on time, there was trouble in the air.

“As soon as the pilot took off, the aircraft made so much noise. Some people thought it was the kitchen appliances that were rattling. I said no, this is not kitchen appliances - this has to do with the body of the aircraft,” he said.

Many panicking passengers pressed the alarm button which prompted the pilot to start “encircling and then people were wondering what was going on,” the professor said.

Spokesman for Arik, Mr. Banji Ola, said it was not possible for a pilot to complain of fatigue to a passenger and that the claim that aircraft’s door was half shut mid-air was untrue.

“It’s not possible [for a passenger] to buy a ticket for Dakar and be dumped in Accra and the airline did not make arrangements,” Ola said.

He said no such complaints had been brought to his knowledge but promised to investigate the matter.