BA plane develops fault, grounded at airport .

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

A BRITISH Airways (BA) plane with over 120 passengers billed to travel to London was grounded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIA) after a technical fault on Monday.

The Guardian learnt that one of the engines of the aircraft developed a technical fault just before take-off from the airport, as a result of which all the over 120 passengers aboard the flight were asked to disembark until a solution was found to the problem.

Eyewitnesses spoke of a loud noise and then smoke seen coming from the area where the right engine was located.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) grounded the aircraft after it was notified of the problem.

“The aircraft had a snag and the airline notified the NCAA and we grounded it”, the NCAA said.

According to the regulatory body, there are routine procedures to be carried out for a defective aircraft.

It was learnt that the aircraft was scheduled to depart Abuja by 8.14 a.m. and to arrive in London at 2.26 p.m.

When the Public Relations Officer, NAIA, Abuja, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu was contacted, she confirmed the incident, describing it as a technical fault from the aircraft.

“The BA had a technical fault so they had to disembark all the passengers.

“It landed as usual but when it was about to take off, it was discovered it had a technical fault. There was no accident and no casualty,” she said.

Kola Olayinka, Country Manager for BA, said: “The flight BA082/15Apr has night-stopped in Abuja. British Airways confirms that its Abuja-London flight was stopped due to operational reasons.

“At the moment, the parts to fix the problem are being flown from London tonight, and the flight will operate tomorrow to new timings”.

“All British Airways passengers have been looked after according to our Operational Standard Procedures. British Airways flight 083 scheduled to depart London tonight is operating normally”, he said.

An Arik flight billed to leave Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, was also at the weekend aborted over a suspected technical fault.

The aircraft SN-MJE was about to take off at about 11.00 a.m. when to the passengers’ dismay, there began a delay that lasted for over five hours.

Some passengers alleged the aircraft was delayed due to technical issues even as they condemned the airline officials for keeping them in the dark as to the real cause for the delay.

An official of the airline declined to respond to inquiries.

-Guardianwp_posts