Airline disaster was averted on Monday evening with at least 50 passengers rescued from a fire gutted Dana aircraft flying from portharcourt to Lagos.
The fire was reported to have gutted the tyres of the aeroplane when it was about to take off on the runway.
The men of the fire service at the airport moved in to control the situation as they stopped the looming disaster of the aircraft operated by Dana Airlines Limited in Port Harcourt.
A statement titled, ‘Press statement on Port Harcourt Incident of 2/5/22’ released on Tuesday morning by Dana Air spokesperson, Kingsley Ezenwa, revealed that no life was lost, nor was any passenger injured, as an investigation has started into the cause of the fire.
The statement partly read, “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 takeoff affected the aircraft tyres which sparked off while the aircraft was taxiing to repark
“All 50 passengers on board 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.”