Tragedy Averted As Fire Guts Aircraft’s Tyres Before Take-Off
A tragedy of monumental proportion was averted on Monday when the tyres of an aircraft getting ready for take-off caught fire forcing the flight out of Rivers State to be aborted
The incident involved an aircraft operated by Dana Airlines Limited on Monday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
A spokesman for the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa, while confirming the incident in a statement on Tuesday said no life was lost and no passenger was injured. He also disclosed that the aircraft had been grounded pending the conclusion of investigations into the remote cause of the incident.
“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 apologise to all the passengers on the flight for the inconveniences caused due to the eventual cancellation of the flight” the statement reads.
