There was pandemonium at the Domestic Wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport In Lagos, when an aircraft, belonging to Dana Airline Crash landed on the Runway.
No casualty was recorded as the 83 Passengers onboard the flight were disembarked safely.
Meanwhile many of the customers vowed not to fly with Dana Air again as it poses threats to their lives.
In dousing the tension, the Management of Dana Air issued a Press Statement, urging Nigerians and their numerous customers not to panic.
Though Dana Air Management failed to state the circumstances that surrounded the incident, it stated that investigation was still ongoing to ascertain what really happened.
The Statement reads; “Runway Incursion”: Dana Air regrets to inform the public of a runway incursion involving one of our aircraft, registration number 5N BKI, which was flying from Abuja to Lagos. today 23/04/24
“We are relieved to confirm that all 83 passengers and crew onboard the flight disembarked safely without injuries or scare as the crew handled the situation with utmost professionalism.
“We have also updated the AIB and NCAA on the incident and the aircraft involved has been grounded by our maintenance team for further investigation.
“We wish to thank the airport authorities, our crew for their very swift response in ensuring the safe disembarkation of all passengers following the incident and our sincere apologies and appreciation to the passengers on the affected flight for their patience and understanding.
“We wish to reassure our passengers that their safety will always be our top priority, and we are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Watch the Dana Air crash video below…
We thank God. No casualties pic.twitter.com/PIbqU1AeFO https://t.co/wQ8pB3YKes
— Morris Monye (@Morris_Monye) April 23, 2024
Nigeria’s Dana Air blames passenger after door falls off
The flight from Lagos to Abuja was taxiing on the runway when the emergency exit door came away.
Dana Air denied that it was caused by a mechanical fault, and said the door could not fall off “without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it”.
But one passenger told the BBC that everyone on board had denied tampering with the door.
Dapo Sanwo, from Lagos, said: “The flight was noisy with vibrations from the floor panel. I noticed the emergency door latch was loose and dangling.”
“When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof-like explosion, followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible.”
“The cabin crew tried to say a passenger pulled the hatch which everyone denied. They also tried to get us to stop taking videos or pictures.”
Ola Brown, who was also travelling on the flight, said on Twitter: “Did you hear [the door] rattling the whole flight? Was so unsettling. I just thought it was a screw loose, Didn’t think it would actually just fall off.”
In a statement, Dana Air denied there were issues with the door during the flight.
“The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger,” the company said.
“When an aircraft is airborne, it is fully pressurised and there was no way the seat or door could have been shaking as insinuated.”
The airline went on to say it had been inspected by engineers alongside a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority team and “no issue was reported”.
“The [return] flight was only delayed for eight minutes as we needed to demonstrate to the regulators that the safety and comfort of our guests is at the centre of our operations,” the statement added.
In 2012, a Dana Air flight crashed in a busy Lagos suburb killing all 153 people on board.
Nigeria has historically had a poor air safety record. Last year, Abuja’s airport airport was closed for six weeks while major repairs were carried out on its runway.
