All passengers onboard a Dana Airlines Limited aircraft have been rescued after its tyres caught fire when a planned trip out of Port Harcourt, Rivers State was aborted.
The incident which occurred on Monday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
A statement on Tuesday morning, issued by Dana Air spokesman, Kingsley Ezenwa, confirmed the development.
It was titled, ‘Press statement on Port Harcourt Incident of 2/5/22’ said the aircraft had been grounded pending the conclusion of their investigations.
It 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 take off affected the aircraft tyres which sparked off while the aircraft was taxiing to repark
“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.”
Read the full statement below:
Our aircraft with registration number 5N JOY operating flight 9J 344 from Port Harcourt to Lagos on the 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 (ATC) 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 onboard the aircraft disembarked safely and our maintenance team 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.
At Dana Air, the safety of our passengers and crew will remain a top priority in all aspects of our operations and we will continue to operate in accordance with the civil aviation regulations and global best practices.