Its engine packed up mid air, says passenger on board same plane earlier that day

A passenger who had flown on the ill-fated plane earlier that day from Lagos to Abuja narrated how its engine stopped working for 30 seconds during flight. Fitz Patrick, a telecommunications engineer with Huawei Telecommunications told Daily Sun that his return flight from Lagos to Abuja on the same plane owned by Dana Airlines was supposed to be for 12.06pm but it was delayed. According to him, when the plane took off, it shook seriously and he was scared that it would not be able to make it to Abuja.
“I took the plane that crash landed earlier in the day. My return flight to Abuja was supposed to be for 12.06pm on Sunday but the plane left Lagos late. Everybody complained. Eventually, it took off. When we were in the air, the plane shook seriously and I became scared. But after a while, it went smoothly.
“The pilot later announced that visibility in Abuja was up to 10 kilometres and there were scattered clouds so no cause for alarm. We continued to move. When we were about to land, the plane shook three times and it was serious. At a point, the engine stopped for about 30 seconds. My seat number was 27B. Then I heard the noise again. What I was thinking within myself was that ‘Please Patrick, pray. Can the pilot hold this flight?” he said.
He added that a similar incident had happened last Friday when he left Abuja for Lagos. He stated that there was a loud noise from the plane’s propeller during the flight but that it was on Sunday before he knew that they had an emergency landing.
“My flight number to Lagos last Friday was 996 and my return flight from Lagos was 993. “On Friday, my flight time was 7.35pm but we had an hour delay. My seat number was 25A. The sound of the propeller was too much. I held my two ears and opened my eyes. During the flight, the pilot said we were about to be at 30, 000 feet above sea level but in my experience, I know that at 30, 000 feet you cannot see any building yet I was seeing buildings.
“It was on Sunday that I knew that they had emergency landing on Friday. On Friday, we didn’t land at Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 but at airport 1, specifically near the bush. While we were still inside the aircraft, there were already three cars with headlamps as well as an ambulance and fire extinguishers waiting. The pilot said ‘sorry for landing you here. It is a sign of good things coming to Nigeria’. Some people smiled while others murmured. My understanding was that they did not give them permission to land at MMA 2,” Patrick said.
06/06/12/Faith Omoruyi & Kate Halim/The Sun

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2012, Safety Jun 2012