United Airlines plane declares emergency

A United States flag carrier, United Airlines flight UA613, outbound from Lagos to Washington, has declared an emergency and returned to Lagos.

Reports revealed that passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a Boeing 787-8, sustained minor injuries.

The flight, which had 245 passengers, eight flight attendants and three pilots, made a direct return to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, while outbound over Ivory Coast airspace.

According to one of the passengers, who spoke under anonymity, the incident happened after they had unfastened their seatbelts.

The passenger said: “We had already been served our meals when the plane lost pressure and dropped. We noticed a sharp descent. I hit my head on the ceiling because of the impact. I became unconscious, but one person from the medical team came to attend to me in the middle of the turmoil.

“The sharp descent happened three times, causing some people to sustain injuries. We spent four hours on air. In the midst of the turmoil, the pilot said we were going to land in Ghana, but we eventually landed in Nigeria.”

Clarifying the development, the airline in a chat with Vanguard, said: “Flight UA613 from Lagos to Washington D.C. returned to Lagos to address a technical issue. After landing safely, the aircraft was met by first responders to address reports of minor injuries to several passengers and crew.”