A possible air mishap was averted, on Monday, when a Dana Air flight going to Lagos from Owerri, in Imo State, could not take off after taxing, due to safety concerns.
The incident, which happened at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, left some of the passengers shaken.
The 3pm Lagos-bound craft had fully loaded its passengers and was about take off when a technical malfunction was noticed in the aircraft.
An airport source, who witnessed the evacuation of passengers, told our correspondent in confidence that the aircraft had taxied through the runway and had approached the runway threshold where planes lift into the air, but could not as one of the wheels was stiff and unresponsive.
Our source noted that the pilot of the plane had tried to manoeuvre the plane into full functionality but the plane still could not lift into the air due to the unresponsive wheels and as such had to be grounded.
Consequently, the Dana Air plane blocked off the runway such that no plane could land or take-off for nearly an hour.
It took the intervention of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) which mobilised buses and other vehicles to go to the grounded plane and ferry passengers back to the departure lounge.
Reacting to the incident, the management of Dana Air said it was not quite a very serious issue but had been taken care of by the airline. (New Telegraph)