An Abuja-bound Max Air flight made an emergency landing on Wednesday after one of its engines caught fire, barely 10 minutes after taking off from Maiduguri airport in Borno state.
Over 70 passengers, including Usman Kadafur, deputy governor of Borno State, were on board. According to Zagazola Makama a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad regio, preliminary reports indicate a bird strike caused the engine fire.
The pilot safely returned to Maiduguri airport, and no injuries were reported.
Max Air promptly dispatched a replacement aircraft to Maiduguri to convey the stranded passengers to Abuja. The replacement flight departed Maiduguri at about 11:00 p.m., ensuring minimal disruption to passengers’ travel plans,” he wrote on X.
Zagazola further explained that “Bird strikes are a known risk in aviation, especially during takeoff and landing phases. Airlines are urged to conduct regular wildlife hazard assessments and implement bird control measures around airports to reduce such incidents.”
Recall in July, a Max Air commercial flight with 119 passengers and 6 crew members onboard suffered a total failure of its rear landing gear while taking off on a scheduled service at Yola Airport.
West Africa Weekly exclusively reported last year that following a series of high-profile Max Air safety incidents which led to a grounding of its Boeing 737 fleet by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the airline was permitted to resume 737 flight operations despite an audit report showing no fewer than 48 major safety and maintenance infractions.
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