Tension as tyres of Lagos-bound Dana flight catch fire at Port Harcourt airport

There was tension at Port Harcourt International Airport when the tyres of a Dana Air plane heading for Lagos caught fire.

The 50 passengers on board the aircraft were immediately evacuated as the pilot aborted takeoff.

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However, all the aboard  were safely disembarked.

The airline confirmed that the Pilot-in-Command of the MD-83 aircraft with registration number 5N-JOY aborted takeoff after noticing some anomaly.

In a statement by its spokesman, Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline said, “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 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 aspect of our operations and we will continue to operate in accordance with the civil aviation regulations and global best practices.”