Bird Strike Forces Dana Air To Make Emergency Landing In Lagos

A Dana Air aircraft en-route. Facebook

By Oladipupo Mojeed

A Dana Air aircraft en-route Port Harcourt on Friday morning, made an ‘air return’, some minutes after take-off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport II, Lagos.

According to statement posted on the company’s facebook page by Kingsley Ezenwa, the Communications Manager of the airline, “11am on 21st of April, one of our aircraft with registration number 5N-SRI operating 11 am  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.

“A 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.

The statement also said the guests were put on another aircraft to ensure that their itinerary is not entirely disrupted.

The aircraft is currently being evaluated by the company’s engineers to determine the effect of the bird strike on the affected engine.” he said

Precautionary measures

Reacting to the incident,  the General Manager, Public Relations, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Sam Adurogboye, said that the air return was a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward occurrence.

Adurogboye said the pilot acted according to Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs), as such the incidences should not be sensationalised.

“The pilot did the right thing by returning to base.

“The aircraft had already lost one engine as a result of the bird strike and the standard practice is that the pilot should land at the nearest airport.

“Once such incident occurs, it is mandatory for the airline to make a report to the NCAA,” he told NAN.

Adurogboye also restated NCAA’s commitment to the safety and security of Nigeria’s aviation sector.

This is the third incident recorded by the Nigerian aviation sector in the last 72 hours.

An Aero Contractors flight NG316 en-route Lagos, from Port Harcourt, was on Tuesday engulfed in smoke about 20 minutes after take-off, causing panic among the passengers.

Similarly, two aircrafts belonging to Air Peace were on Thursday involved in a ground collision at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *