An Air Peace aeroplane inbound to Lagos from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja was halted due to suspected technical issues.
The incident, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday, caused panic among passengers, many of whom took to social media to express their fears.
Popular human rights lawyer Inihebe Effiong, who posted on his X page, 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 further stated that the captain of the aircraft blamed the occurrence on a bird strike, calling into question the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s recent statements about the procurement of multimillion-naira bird strike equipment.
The lawyer said, “The captain attributed the incident to a bird strike. We have been disembarked to await either a replacement or repair of the aircraft.
He also stated that another aircraft had been dispatched to evacuate the passengers who were awaiting transport.
Another passenger, who requested anonymity, verified the incident and urged the airline to pay closer attention to its aircraft, saying, “I am not sure what happened was due to a bird strike.”
Meanwhile, Ejike Ndiulo, the Air Peace’sp Head of Corporate Communications, acknowledged in a statement that the aircraft was stopped before takeoff owing to a bird strike.
Ejike, however, appealed for “the understanding of the passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.”
“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight to minimise disruption and ensure that passengers can continue their journeys promptly,” the statement concluded.
