Nigerian Arik Air on Friday explained why one of its airplane travelling from Lagos to Accra, Ghana, made an emergency landing on Tuesday.
The Airline disclosed this through a statement signed its spokesperson, Adebanji Ola and made available to BusinessToday Newsonline that the aircraft made the emergency landing after the pilot detected a smoke coming from its cabin.
The statement further explained why the emergency landing was declared, the Captain duly briefed the passengers when the incident occurred.
The statement thus reads: “Arik Air flight W3 304 from Lagos to Accra on March 6, 2018, declared an emergency in line with standard operating procedures when an unknown source of the smoke was detected in the cabin 81 miles from Accra.
“The captain of the flight briefed the passengers accordingly assuring them that the aircraft was under control and safe for landing in Accra.
“The aircraft, a Dash 8 Q400, landed safely in Accra without further incident and all passengers disembarked normally.”
It added that a team of engineers are currently conducting inspections on the aircraft which is now parked in Accra, Ghana.
“The aircraft is currently parked in Acrra and our team of engineers are conducting comprehensive inspections on the aircraft to ascertain the cause of the smoke, after which the aircraft will be flown without passengers to a maintenance facility for rectification and testing.
“The relevant aviation authorities in Ghana and Nigeria have been briefed appropriately on the incident.”