Suspected Burglars attacked an aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as it was about to take off on Thursday.
The attackers opened the cargo section of the Flight 7138 taxiing for departure on runway 18R (A1) of the airport.
This disturbance happened a day after the door of an aircraft belonging to Dana Air fell off while taxiing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The airline management later said the Murtala Muhammed International Airport incident could not have happened without a passenger tampering with the door.
Passengers on board the Air Peace flight disembarked while the explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) squad, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the airline’s security team carried out the check.
Chris Iwarah, Air Peace communications manager, confirmed in a statement that the cargo was opened for about 15 seconds “and immediately shut down”.
He added that after learning of the incident, the pilot-in-command of the aircraft alerted the control tower.
Pilot-in-command had to contact control tower when he was alerted by the light that came on in the cockpit suggesting that the cargo hold was opened for about 15 seconds and immediately shut.
Iwarah thanked passengers on board the aircraft for their support, patience and cooperation throughout the security checks.
He also said that in line with high-security standards and the huge value the airline places on the lives of our guests and crew, Capt. Arasi noted: “Our guests, who were fully briefed of the development by the pilot-in-command, were advised to disembark from the aircraft and board an Air Peace bus while the joint security operation by EOD, FAAN AVSEC and our security team lasted. The Lagos-Abuja flight was cleared by the security experts after an exhaustive screening of the aircraft lasting about 30 minutes.
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