50 escape death as fire razes plane tyres in Rivers

By Enekorogha Godbless

50 travellers escaped death when fire razed the tyres of a plane operated by Dana Airlines Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Monday evening.

A statement by Dana Air spokesman, Kingsley Ezenwa, confirmed the incident which occurred at the Port Harcourt airport with no life lost and no passenger injured.

According to the press statement on Port Harcourt incident of 2/5/22’, the aircraft had been grounded pending the conclusion of their investigations.

Part of the statement posited : “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 taxing to re-park.

“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 apologize to all the passengers on the flight for the inconveniences caused due to the eventual cancellation of the flight.”