Disaster was averted on Monday night at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos as passengers aboard Emirates flight to Dubai escaped a ground crash after their aircraft collided with a stationary plane belonging to Hak Air.

It was learnt that the Boeing 777-200R aircraft with over 300 passengers collided with another Boeing 737-400 while taxiing for take-off and this led to a substantial damage on the parked plane.

It was also gathered that the Emirates flight was aborted and passengers onboard the aircraft were evacuated immediately.

Confirming the development, the Head, Public Affairs, Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, said the agency sent investigators immediately to the scene of the incident to figure out what happened.

He said, “A Boeing 777-200LR belonging to Emirates Airline was yesterday (Monday) at around 9:30pm involved in a ground collision with a domestic airliner at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, a B737-400 owned by HAK Air.

“AIB promptly deployed a team of investigators to determine the circumstances surrounding the serious incident with a view to making possible safety recommendations.”

Oketunbi explained that the Emirates aircraft marked A6-EWD was taxiing for a take-off en-route Dubai when its wing tip cut into the B737-400 aircraft parked on the apron of the domestic wing of the airport.

“While the Emirates aircraft had a little damage on its wing tip, the Hak Air B737 recorded substantial damage. The Emirates flight was aborted and the passengers were evacuated immediately,” he said.

The source said the incident might have occurred due to the safety issue the international runway, 18Left had as at the time of the incident; the runway was not properly lit.

As a result of the safety issue, all international aircraft were directed to the local runway, 18Right for take-off. And, being a big aircraft with wide wings, the right wing of the Emirate aircraft came in contact with that of the Hak Air.

Another source disclosed that a portion of the taxiway was already on Notice To Airmen, NOTAM, which means that aircraft were not allowed to operate to that portion of the runway, which the pilot of the aircraft allegedly ignored.

As at Tuesday mid-morning, the aircraft was still parked at the tarmac of the airport, while the passengers were yet to be transported out of the country.

Confirming the incident on phone with National Mirror correspondent, the Regional Manager, Emirates West Africa, Mr. Manoj Nair confirmed that the incident occurred when the aircraft was taxiing for departure.

Nair however said no injuries were recorded to passengers or crew, but the aircraft remained on ground while all passengers and crew were transferred back to the terminal.

He added, “A night stop has been declared and passengers will be accommodated on other services. Our flight safety team has left for Lagos. Emirates can confirm that flight EK782 from Lagos to Dubai on 6th July made minor contact with the aircraft of another carrier while taxiing.

“Passengers were provided overnight hotel accommodation and will be flown to Dubai on other Emirates services on 7th July.

“Emirates apologises for any inconvenience caused. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200LR, is currently in Lagos for damage assessment and checks. “Emirates is co-operating fully with all the relevant authorities. We are also conducting our own internal investigation into the incident,” he said.

When the Managing Director of Hak Air, Capt. Harry Kuti was contacted on the issue as reported by National Mirror, he simply responded that he was out of the country for official assignment and declined to comment further.

Boeing 777-200 is the world’s largest twinjet and has a typical seating capacity for 314 to 451 passengers.

The Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of AIB, Dr. Felix Abali, according to a statement from the bureau, on Tuesday inspected the scene of the occurrence and promised that the investigation would be handled with speed.

He was quoted as saying that “Every incident is a safety issue that must be thoroughly investigated. This will help in preventing accidents and sustain safety in aviation. This investigation will be conducted with speed.”

 

Source: Punchng.com; Newsng.com

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