Bird strike today forced Dana Air 11 am Lagos –Port Harcourt flight to make air return to the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

The incident occurred during take- off of the airplane from Lagos to Port Harcourt and it affected one of the engines.

The incident forced the pilot to take safety precaution by making air return to Lagos, where the flight originated from.

Abelnewsng.com learnt that the airline has since grounded the aircraft.

The Media and Communications Manager, Dana Air, Mr Kingsley Ezenwa confirmed the incident, adding that the Pilot –In –Command took a professional and safety decision and returned to base.

According to him, “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.”

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.

He continued, “Our passengers have however been re-protected on another aircraft to ensure that their itinerary is not entirely disrupted. The aircraft is currently being evaluated by our engineers to determine the effect of the bird strike on the affected engine. “

At Dana Air, the safety and comfort of our guests will remain a top priority to us and we will stop at nothing in our commitment towards offering a safe and reliable air transport.