Plane Crash Averted As Arik Air Aircraft Loses Engine Mid-Air Between Lagos And Jos

What could have caused a plane crash in Nigeria and throw the country into mourning  was averted on Friday as an Arik Air aircraft lost one of its two engines mid-air with over 100 passengers on board.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 with the registration number 5N-MJD, SaharaReporters learnt, departed from Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, for Jos when the pilot discovered that the plane had lost one of its engines during the flight.

A source close to the airline revealed  that the aircraft was already 60 miles away from Lagos before the incident occurred.

Immediately after the pilot discovered the problem, he contacted the Lagos control tower, which granted him emergency landing status.

Passengers panicked when they were informed that the aircraft would return to Lagos.

Upon landing in Lagos, it was gathered that the aircraft could not taxi out of the runway and it took the intervention of the Airport Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services (ARFFS), a department in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), to tow the aircraft to the hajj and cargo terminal area of the airport in order for the passengers to disembark from the aircraft.

Source: Sahara Reporters