Nigeria: 38 people injured as United Airlines flight from Lagos to DC returns on emergency landing after three hours in the air

Nigeria: 38 people injured as United Airlines flight from Lagos to DC returns on emergency landing after three hours in the air

Reports have it that a United Airlines flight carrying over 200 passengers from Lagos to Washington, DC, returns on an emergency landing when it encounters issues midair.

According to sources, 38 people have been reportedly injured, including six hospitalized.

Speaking to one of the passengers, Mr. Joseph Bamidele told NEWSng that “We boarded the plane around 11:59 pm on Thursday. We were about 3 hours in the air, and we were having dinner when the incident happened.

He continued. “All of a sudden we saw the plane descend very fast, almost to about half of the height. We all started shouting, fear gripping all the passengers on board. Then the plane started bumping like a car driving into bumps.

“The cart that was used to serve food was flying around, and we started hitting our heads on each other’s and the body of the plane. Many of the crew’s staff had their legs dislocated. Some of us, including myself, started throwing up; children were crying, and some passengers sustained injuries.

“The pilot announced to us he was going to make an emergency landing in Ghana but later changed his mind to Lagos because, according to him, we will be taking the same risk either way. When we had the emergency landing in Lagos, there was no medical team on the ground.

“This time was 4 am on Friday; the immigration wanted to use that as an opportunity to extort money. The airport staff were after collecting money for the cart rather than helping. There was no compassion from both the immigration and Nacco staffs.

“We were later taken to the Ibis hotel near the airport, where we were abandoned. There were no follow-ups from United. Our case was treated as normal incidents.” He said.

NEWSng gathered that the exact nature of the emergency remains unclear, but video footage from the incident shows the Boeing 787-8’s cabin in disarray, with meal trays scattered across the floor and parts of the aircraft’s headliner detached.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria reported that United Airlines Flight 613 departed Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 11:59 p.m. local time on Thursday but returned to Lagos at 3:22 a.m. Friday following an emergency that occurred “hours” into the journey.

United Airlines stated Saturday that the aircraft, carrying 245 passengers, eight crew members, and three pilots, returned safely to Lagos due to “a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement.”

Among the injured, four passengers and two flight attendants were hospitalized. While United Airlines described the injuries as minor, the Nigerian airports authority said the six individuals had “serious” injuries.

Despite the incident, the aircraft did not suffer significant damage, according to officials. The flight was in the air for 3 hours and 36 minutes, as per FlightAware.

NEWSng learned that United Airlines is cooperating with Nigerian and U.S. authorities to investigate the cause of the incident.

Nigeria: 38 people injured as United Airlines flight from Lagos to DC returns on emergency landing after three hours in the air