In a statement issued by the General Manager, Public Affairs
of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Fan Ndubuoke. Tragedy was averted yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 in Lagos following a ground
collision of two aircraft belonging to FirstNation Airways.
The incident which happened at midday, involved two Airbus
330 conveying not fewer than 250 passengers. The two aircraft were partially
damaged as a result of the collision.
A source at the airport said one of the aircraft was taxiing
from the runway to the terminal, for passengers to disembark while the other
aircraft was preparing to take off to Port-Harcourt from the same terminal.
The source said the pilot may have been misdirected by the
marshals who led the pilot to taxi to the wrong part of the apron, and that the
Port Harcourt bound aircraft was parked at Gate 4 while the arriving aircraft
was bound for Gate 3 of the terminal.
However, the marshals misdirected the arriving aircraft to
the same Gate as the parked aircraft which led to the two wings brushing each
other.
Following the incident, the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority immediately grounded both aircraft while passengers were asked to
disembark by the airline. It was gathered that the refund of tickets were made to
passengers on the Port-Harcourt bound aircraft by the airline.
Credit:
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
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