50 passengers escape as fire guts plane’s tyres in Port Harcourt

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has dispatched its investigators to Port Harcourt International Airport to assess the incident involving the Dana Air flight heading to Lagos which was aborted after take-off.

Daily Trust reports that there was panic on Monday when the plane aborted takeoff and in the process the tyres reportedly sparked.

However, all the 50 passengers aboard the MD83 aircraft with registration number 5N-JOY were safely disembarked.

The airline confirmed that Pilot-in-Command aborted take-off after noticing some anomaly.

In a statement by its spokesman, Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline said, “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 (ATC) 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 on board the aircraft disembarked safely and our maintenance team immediately grounded the aircraft pending the conclusion of their investigations.”

The airline, however, apologised to the passengers on the flight for the inconveniences caused due to the eventual cancellation of the flight.

“At Dana Air, the safety of our passengers and crew will remain a top priority in all aspects of our operations and we will continue to operate in accordance with the civil aviation regulations and global best practices,” the airline said.

It was not clear yesterday if the airline would be investigating the incident.

However, spokesman for the bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi said AIB investigators had been dispatched to the airport, adding their report would determine whether it would probe the incident.