Victor Ezeja
Not less than 38 Passengers have been confirmed injured after a Washington DC-bound United Airlines plane with 245 passengers and 11 crew members experienced turbulence mid-air and made an emergency return to Lagos.
The aircraft, Boeing 787-8 flight Dreamliner was en route to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), in the United States, from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, when it developed a technical fault midair and was forced to return to the airport.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThere were also 11 crew members – eight attendants and three pilots – on the plane, making a total of 256. Some of the crew members were among those injured in the incident.
The incident which occurred on Thursday night, left the passengers in grave shock. A video shared on social media by some of the passengers showed moments of the turbulence as the aircraft abruptly lost altitude, causing commotion. Passengers were heard praying for safety.
One of the passengers onboard who shared her experience said they had gone past Abidjan when the incident happened and the pilot announced plans to land in Ghana but later returned to Lagos for an emergency landing.
According to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the flight which departed MMIA, Lagos at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, returned and landed safely at 3.22 a.m. on Friday. It said passengers disembarked safely.
In a statement on Friday, FAAN Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah, confirmed that four passengers and two crew members sustained serious injuries, while 27 passengers and five crew members had minor injuries, making it a total of 38 persons.
Orah said: “The team of Aerodrome Rescue and Fire Fighting Services, Aviation Medical, and Aviation Security were already at the gate when the aeroplane parked for deboarding at D31 without incident, and the door was opened at 3:37 a.m.
“While all passengers and crew disembarked safely, four passengers and two crew members sustained serious injuries, and an additional 27 passengers and five crew members had minor injuries.”
She said that the rescue team responded swiftly, having been on alert and standby.
“Aviation medical ambulances transported the injured passengers, some to the MMA Clinic and others to the Headquarters Clinic,” she added.
However, one of the passengers onboard who shared her experience under condition of anonymity alleged that they did not receive immediate attention by the medical personnel upon landing.
“Last night we had a harrowing experience on a United Airlines flight from Lagos to Washington DC. The plane spiralled out of control, lost its navigational and other tools. We had gone past Abidjan, and were initially to make an emergency landing in Ghana but the plane later regained all lost tools and we were able to come back to Lagos with some people injured including some crew members.
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“When we landed, we had to wait for medical personnel who took forever to come to the plane. We have no value for human life in this country and therefore are never prepared for emergencies.”
“Having survived a plane with major technical issues, surviving the Almighty Nigerian attitude seemed a bigger threat. May God heal this country. We were housed in a hotel near the airport, I am still traumatised like many other passengers,” the passenger added.
We’re Investigating Flight Problem – NCAA
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has said it is independently investigating the cause of the incident.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection (NCAA), Mr. Michael Achimugu, said the agency is examining the aircraft Flight Data Recorder (FDR) to determine exactly what happened.
“We are investigating the incident. We have received the Flight Data Recorder in order to ascertain exactly what happened,” Achimugu stated in a statement on Friday.
He assured that a statement would be issued after the conclusion of the investigation.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
