Tragedy
was averted on Friday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 in Lagos
following a ground collision of two aircraft belonging to FirstNation Airways.
A
similar incident had occurred at the airport on July 6, following the collision
of two aircraft belonging to Emirates and Hak Air.
Friday’s
incident which happened at about midday involved two Airbus 330 conveying not
fewer than 250 passengers.
The
two aircraft were partially damaged as a result of the collision.
A
source at the airport said one of the aircraft was taxiing from the runway to
the terminal, for passengers to disembark while the other aircraft was
preparing to take off to Port-Harcourt from the same terminal.
The
source said the pilot may have been misdirected by the marshals who led the
pilot to taxi to the wrong part of the apron.
According
to the source, the Port Harcourt bound aircraft was parked at Gate 4 while the
arriving aircraft was bound for Gate 3 of the terminal.
However,
the source claimed that the marshals misdirected the arriving aircraft to the
same Gate as the parked aircraft which led to the two wings brushing each
other.
Following
the incident, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority immediately grounded both
aircraft while passengers were asked to disembark by the airline.
It
was gathered that the refund of tickets were made to passengers on the
Port-Harcourt bound aircraft by the airline.
The
NCAA also confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its General Manager,
Public Affairs, Fan Ndubuoke.
Mr.
Ndubuoke said no passenger was hurt and that the incident had been referred to
the Accident Investigation Bureau for further investigation.
He
also reiterated NCAA’s commitment to safety and security of passengers. (NAN)
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