The engine of one of Overland Airways’ aircraft caught fire miles away from runway 18R of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on Wednesday evening (around 9 pm).
This was disclosed by a staff of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the MMIA on Thursday.
According to him, the engine of the aircraft, with registration number 5N-BRQ, caught fire shortly before it landed after the pilot’s efforts to put it off failed.
About the incident
He said, “The four-member flight crew of Overland Airways made a successful landing of a distressed aircraft on the Runway 18R of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Wednesday evening.
“The ATR 42 aircraft, which has 37 passengers on board, was en-route Ilorin-Lagos when the pilot noticed the fire and he managed to land and move it from the runway to the taxiway, where the fire was put out by the airport’s fire service.
“The pilots had sent out a Mayday to the Lagos control tower. Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is an international radio distress signal used by ships and aircraft.
“The Lagos airport control tower consequently put the airport emergency response team, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s fire services department, on notice, following the Mayday.
“The pilot finally landed the faulty plane safely on the international airport’s runway amid a fully prepared airport emergency response team.”
