Panic Grips 135 Passengers as Smoke Erupts from Azman Flight

Panic Grips 135 Passengers as Smoke Erupts from Azman Flight

Chinedu Eze

Panic griped 135 passengers thursday when smoke erupted in the lavatory of Abuja-bound Azman flight barely few minutes after it was airborne from Lagos, forcing the pilot to return to the airport of departure.

The Azman Flight ZQ 2323 LOS ETD with about 135 passengers and six-member crew, took off at about 4.20 p.m. from the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, but returned to base when the smoke spread in the whole aircraft.

One of the passengers told THISDAY that when the flight took off, a female passenger, about 24-year-old, who wore a hijab, went to the lavatory and disposed hot shisha charcoal in the trash can, causing the smoke to erupt, wafting through the cabin and emitting acrid smell.

Smoke detector was said to have alerted the crew and a female cabin crew walked to the lavatory and put off the fire with fire extinguisher.

With the fire apparently subdued, the flight continued to gain altitude, but about 10 minutes later, smoke was seen again coming out of the lavatory and forcing the Pilot-in-Command to abort the flight and return to the Lagos airport.

THISDAY gathered that on arrival at the airport, fire fighters surrounded the aircraft while passengers were de-boarded.

The female passenger who was suspected to have caused the smoke, was subjected to interrogation by Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel.

“At first the aircraft seemed to have been cleared. Fire Service and NCAA personal have just finished inspection and audit of the aircraft and cleared it for flights. We have been told to wait for boarding any moment from now. An updated flight manifest has just been taken to the crew inside the aircraft. Many passengers declined to continue the journey with the same aircraft. I am ready to board though we are back into the terminal. We were told by the officials of the airline that NCAA is still carrying out integrity test on the aircraft. Not yet cleared to fly,” one of the passengers told THISDAY.

The Director of Consumer Protection, NCAA, Adamu Abdullahi who confirmed the incident, explained in a statement that the passengers were asked to disembark from the aircraft after the captain noticed a snag on aircraft with registration number 5N-HAI.

“After it was certified to fly again, the aircraft finally departed with 129 passengers on board; six passengers declined to board and were refunded,” he explained.

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