Qatar Airways plane with 248 passengers in near Mishap @ MMIA

Huhuonline.com Understands that a Qatar Airways aircraft A330 nearly crashed with 248 passengers on board during an emergency landing on Saturday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

  The plane coming from Doha, the capital of Qatar, made the emergency landing at 1.10 pm, allegedly as a result of low pressure on its landing gear and a flat tyre after sources confirmed that the pilot had sent a distress call to air traffic controllers.

Following the distress call made by the pilot, fire fighters from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Lagos State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service were immediately mobilized to curtail the near mishap, just as rescue workers from the National Emergency Management Agency, Julius Berger among others also waited for the distressed aircraft.

  Sources said the aircraft was immediately towed to the parking bay of the international wing of the airport with the panic-stricken passengers.

  Meanwhile the Information Officer, NEMA, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, who led the emergency process on behalf of the agency, disclosed that the agency received a distress call from airport authorities as early as 10am and consequently mobilised and coordinated an emergency landing for the aircraft which later landed safely.

  However, the Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Harold Demuren, confirmed that the pilot took precautionary steps to land the aircraft.