I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I saw this in my news feeds folder.Any body with additional info please?
.....................................
NIGERIA'S airspace, which not too long ago, was serially traumatized by accidents, was saved from two major air mishaps yesterday in Lagos and Abuja. A total of 263 lives were saved in the two incidents.
An IRS airbus Fokker 100 with registration number 5NCEO scheduled to leave Lagos at about 7.30 pm en-route Abuja-Kano and Maiduguri developed flat tyres while taxiing on the the Murtala Muhammed Airport runway, and veered off into the surrounding field. Two of its tyres reportedly went flat while preparing to take off. The 101 passengers and seven crew members on board were immediately evacuated, with some of them being taken to hospitals for minor treatment to injuries sustained in the panic that ensued in the belly of the aircraft.
Spokesman for the airline, Solomon Ibharunefe, confirmed the incident but told The Guardian that the aircraft had run into sharp objects ("debris") on the runway, which then punctured the tyres. He, however, said that the passengers had been well taken care of.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN also affirmed that the aircraft had been towed to the cargo apron of the airport.
In Abuja, A British Airways aircraft, Boeing 777, with registration number 11H with 155 passengers was discovered to have developed fire in its engines after it had taken off from the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport at about 10am. It was therefore diverted to the Kano airport.
In a statement late released a few minutes to midnight by the BA public relations consultant, Quadrant company, said that the aircraft "declared a PAN on approach to Abuja this morning".
It continued: "The BA82 Abuja Heathrow flight was diverted to Kano in Nigeria.
"The flight crew detected smoke in the cockpit and took the decision to divert as a precaution.
The aircraft was inspected by engineers, who thought they had fixed the problem by isolating an air conditioning pack.
"Approximately 60 minutes into the return BA82 Abuja Heathrow flight, smoke was again detected in the cockpit.
"The flight crew went on to oxygen and while passengers in First and Club were believed to have smelled smoke, oxygen masks were not deployed.
" There are 155 passengers on board.
The Captain took the decision to declare a PAN and diverted to Kano (Airport code KAN).
"The aircraft landed safely in Kano.
" The passengers are on the aircraft at the moment".
However, a distraught parent of one of the passengers, lamented that it was inhuman for the airline to keep the passengers "from 4pm to this time (11pm)." She continued: Why does the BA have to treat the passengers like animals, keeping them for a clear six hours in the aircraft? As I am talking to you, they are still on board, hungry, tired and uncertain of their fate; and without any notification on when their ordeal would be over". She stressed: "Why would they treat the passengers in such a cruel manner. Can they do that to their own citizens? They can only do that to Nigerians".
But BA officials claimed that they had indeed appealed to the understanding of the passengers, and were working on how to sort them out. They delay, they said was caused by the fact that they did not have operation staff on the ground in Kano, and had to deploy experts from Abuja at about 7pm, who had to travel for at least four hours to get to the Kano airport.
Said the statement from the BA
Pr consultants, "It is a five hour drive for engineers based in Abuja to reach Kano to inspect the aircraft.
"BA is looking at bringing an aircraft currently in Dubai across to Kano to pick up the passengers, subject to the crew in Kano receiving sufficient rest.
"This could prove difficult if there are no hotel rooms".
The airline's statement concluded: "We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience caused".
By Wole Sadare