Ken Okeke
Air Peace has attributed the incident that made its Lagos-bound flight make an emergency stop to a bird strike hitting one of the engines of its aeroplanes.
Spokesman for the airline, Dr Ejike Ndiulo in a statement said, “Our Abuja-Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers normally disembark.”
Ndiulo further states that the airline deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight to minimise disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.
“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.”
A bird strike is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle (usually an aircraft).
The term is also used for bird deaths resulting from collisions with structures, such as power lines, towers and wind turbines.
A significant threat to flight safety, bird strikes have caused several accidents with human casualties.
There are over 13,000 bird strikes annually in the US alone. However, the number of major accidents involving civil aircraft is quite low and it has been estimated that there is only about one accident resulting in human death in one billion flying hours.
Prominent human rights lawyer Inihebe Effiong, who posted on his X handle, stated that the flight, scheduled for 6:30 am, was “forcefully” stopped during taxiing.
His post read, “While taxiing on the runway and just before takeoff, our Air Peace flight from Abuja to Lagos, scheduled for 6:30 AM today, was stopped forcefully, resulting in panic and screams from some passengers.”
Effiong added that the captain of the aircraft attributed the incident to a bird strike, bringing into question the recent claims by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria regarding the procurement of multimillion-naira bird strike equipment.
The lawyer said, “The captain attributed the incident to a bird strike. We have been deboarded to await either a replacement or repair of the aircraft.
“Thankfully, whatever happened did not occur after takeoff. It would have been scarier. I am wondering whether there is bird detection radar technology at the domestic wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.”