No fewer than 50 passengers have been rescued as the tyres of an aircraft operated by Dana Airlines Limited in Port Harcourt is gutted by fire.
No life was lost in the incident that happened on Monday evening at the Port Harcourt Airport.
Report had it that no passenger was injured as operatives of the fire service at the airport intervened in the incident.
A statement issued on Tuesday morning, by the spokesman of Dana Air, Kingsley Ezenwa titled, ‘Press statement on Port Harcourt Incident of 2/5/22,’ read that the aircraft had been grounded pending the conclusion of their investigations.
The statement read, “Our aircraft with registration number 5N JOY operating flight 9J 344 from Port Harcourt to Lagos on 2nd of May 2022, was set to take off when the pilot in command noticed an anomaly which he queried with the Air Traffic Control before embarking on a ramp return in line with our strict safety operating procedures.
“However, the impact on the brakes as a result of the aborted take off affected the aircraft tyres which sparked off while the aircraft was taxing to re-park.
“All 50 passengers onboard the aircraft disembarked safely and our maintenance team have immediately grounded the aircraft pending the conclusion of their investigations.
“Once again, we sincerely apologize to all the passengers on the flight for the inconveniences caused due to the eventual cancellation of the flight.”
