Over 100 Passengers travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt on Dana Air flight yesterday were delayed for few hours when the aircraft after takeoff sucked in a bird in one of its two engines, thus forcing the pilot in command to return to the airport of departure, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The incident involved the aircraft with registration number, 5N-SRI and the flight time for the initial flight was 11:00 am before the flight returned to base.
The action taken by the pilot in command was a recommended precautionary measure, but the passengers had to wait until another aircraft was made available by the airline, which finally took them to their destination.
Spokesman of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa said the aircraft involved in the bird strike would soon go back to air as the airline had acquired new engine to replace the damaged one.
Ezenwa explained, “On 21st of April, one of our aircraft with registration number 5N-SRI operating our 11am flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt, had an air return due Bird strike during take-off from Lagos, and our Captain took a professional decision and returned to the Lagos Airport.”
He explained that the bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, which is airborne and as per standard safety procedure, “which is the hallmark of our operation, our pilot returned to base.”
“Our passengers have however been taken to another aircraft to ensure that their itinerary is not entirely disrupted. The aircraft (involved in the incident) is currently being evaluated by our engineers to determine the effect of the bird strike on the affected engine,” Ezenwa added.
He said at Dana Air the safety and comfort of the passengers would remain a top priority to the airline and “we will stop at nothing in our commitment towards offering a safe and reliable air transport.”
THISDAY
