There was tension in the aviation
industry Saturday amid speculation
that there was an incident involving
a Qatar Airways Airbus 332 with 284
passengers onboard on its way to
the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos
from Doha, Quatar.
But investigations by Sunday
Vanguard revealed that the aircraft
had an emergency landing around
1:04 p.m. at MMIA because of low
pressure in the tyres in the under
carriage of the aircraft.
Words had earlier gone round that
the aircraft suffered burst tyres.
A reliable source close to air traffic
controllers at the MMIA, who
refused to have his name in print,
confirmed that the aircraft did not
have burst tyres, rather the incident
happened while the aircraft was
about to land.
He pointed out that the tyres in the
under carriage of the aircraft burst
as it made contact with the runway
due to low pressure.
According to him, while the Quatar
Airways Airbus 332 aircraft took off
in Doha Quatar, the pilot of the
airline discovered that the tyres in
the under carriage had low
pressure; so he had to contact the
airlines staff in their station in
Nigeria to inform the ATC on duty
to make precautionary arrangement
to salvage the situation on landing.
He further noted that no sooner
than the aircraft landed than it got
stuck at the cargo side of the
runway , preventing other planes
from using the runway until it was
toed with a push back tractor to the
apron of the airport in order to
disembark the passengers on board.
Sunday Vanguard gathered further
that as soon as the aircraft landed, it
was escorted by four fire tenders
and one operational vehicle to the
apron side of the airport in case of
any fire outbreak.
Scores of fire fighters belonging to
FAAN, Lagos State Fire Service and
Julius Berger, and ambulance
vehicles were mobilised at the cargo
unit of the airport preparatory to the
aircraft landing.
Even, officials of the Lagos State
emergency management agency
were fully mobilised to the airport in
the event of a possible crash.
The panic-stricken passengers were
reluctant to speak on their
experience. They were rather were
grateful to God for saving them from
air crash.
Speaking to reporters at the cargo
section of the Lagos international
airport , the media officer of NEMA,
Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, who led the
emergency process on behalf of the
agency, explained that they received
a distress call from the pilot of the
aircraft on approach to Lagos, that
the aircraft had burst tyres on the
rear side, which would require
emergency management on landing.
Meanwhile, the Director General of
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA), Dr Harold Demuren,
explained that the pilot of the
aircraft took precautionary steps to
land the plane.
He confirmed that the aircraft had
low pressure in the tyres in the
under carriage.
www.vanguardngr.com/2012/09/248-escape-air-mishap-in-lagos-as-plane-makes-emergency-landing/