About 50 passengers onboard Dana Air Flight 9J344 with registration number 5N JOY from Port Harcourt to Lagos were safely disembarked 9:00 pm on Monday when the tyre of the aircraft caught fire on the runway, but the pilot quickly aborted take-off.
THISDAY learnt that the pilot in command saw light that seemed to be that of an approaching aircraft and immediately asked the Air Traffic Control (ATC) who assured that it was not the light of another aircraft about to land, but by then the pilot had aborted the flight in order to avert possible collision.
The burning tyre prompted emergency evacuation of the passengers on board and the grounding of the aircraft.
A statement from the airline, signed by its Head of Communication, Kingsley Ezenwa and made available to THISDAY explained that the abortion of the flight was a precautionary measure to avert possible accident.
“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 (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 take-off affected the aircraft tyres, which sparked off while the aircraft was taxiing to re-park. All 50 passengers onboard the aircraft disembarked safely and our maintenance team immediately grounded the aircraft pending the conclusion of their investigations,” the airline stated.
Dana Air, which cancelled the flight, insisted that the pilot took the decision to abort the flight in order to protect the airlines passengers.
“Once again, we sincerely apologise 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 aspect of our operations and we will continue to operate in accordance with the civil aviation regulations and global best practices,” the statement added.