A United Airlines flight, a Boeing 787-8 outbound from Lagos to Washington Dulles, on Thursday, declared an emergency and made an air return to Lagos.
Having established a return track to Lagos, the aircraft crew maintained the emergency transponder code 7700 (Emergency signal) with the control tower till it landed.
The aircraft, initially bound for Washington Dulles International Airport registered N27903, is an over 13-year-old widebody aircraft belonging to the US carrier United Airlines.
It had 245 passengers, eight flight attendants, and three pilots on board.
Some of those on board reportedly sustained injuries.
Videos and pictures from the distressed passengers in the aircraft showed that food and passengers’ luggage were scattered, littering the aircraft owing to the shaky nature of the flight.
The real cause of the pandemonium is yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report but the passengers are of the opinion that it was an engine-related issue.
However, only the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau can ascertain the real cause of such incidents.
When contacted, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Micheal Achimugu, confirmed the development saying the passengers have been lodged in a hotel as stipulated by the regulatory act.
“Yes, it is true, and no problems, the passengers have been lodged in a hotel as stipulated by the NCAA Act,” he said.
The airline also confirmed the development in a terse statement, attributing it to “a technical issue.”
“Flight UA613 from Lagos to Washington D.C. returned to Lagos to address a technical issue.
“After landing safely, the aircraft was met by first responders to address reports of minor injuries to several passengers and crew,” the statement read.
Meanwhile one of the female passengers who would not want her name in the print while narrating her traumatic experience said:
“We had a harrowing experience on United flight from Lagos to Washington, DC. The plane was spiraling out of control and 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. 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. I was able to get this video from one of the passengers. Flight has been cancelled due to a technical issue. Please thank God for all of us who survived this near death experience.”
See video below
