Suspected Burglars attacked an
aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,
Lagos, as it was about to take off on Thursday.
The attackers were said to have
opened the cargo section of the Flight 7138 taxiing for departure on runway 18R
(A1) of the airport.
The incident prompted a prolonged
security check on the aircraft.
It happened a day after the door
of an aircraft belonging to Dana Air fell off while taxiing at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The airline management later said
the incident could not have happened without a passenger tampering with the
door.
Passengers on board the Air Peace
flight disembarked while the explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) squad, Federal
Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the airline’s
security team carried out the check.
Chris Iwarah, Air Peace
communications manager, confirmed the incident in a statement.
He said the cargo was opened for
about 15 seconds “and immediately shut down”.
He added that after learning of
the incident, the pilot-in-command of the aircraft alerted the control tower.
“Pilot-in-command, Capt. Adesola
Arasi had to contact control tower when he was alerted by the light that came
on in the cockpit suggesting that the cargo hold was opened for about 15
seconds and immediately shut,” the statement read.
Iwarah thanked passengers on
board the aircraft for their “support, patience and cooperation” throughout the
security checks.
He also said: “In line with our
high-security standards and the huge value we place on the lives of our guests
and crew, Capt. Arasi insisted on having EOD squad check Flight APK 7138 before
takeoff to be doubly sure nothing was deposited in the cargo hold by the
suspected thieves to endanger the lives of our guests and crew.
“Our guests, who were fully
briefed of the development by the pilot-in-command, were advised to disembark
from the aircraft and board an Air Peace bus while the joint security operation
by EOD, FAAN AVSEC and our security team lasted. The Lagos-Abuja flight was
cleared by the security experts after an exhaustive screening of the aircraft
lasting about 30 minutes.
“The flight eventually took off
at 9.30 pm and safely landed in Abuja at about 10.23 pm. Our satisfied guests
commended the professionalism of Capt. Arasi and his team as well as the high
safety standards of Air Peace.”
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