Dozens of people aboard a United Airlines flight from Africa to the U.S. were injured, six seriously, according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
The airline’s Boeing 787-8 from Lagos, Nigeria to Washington, D.C., on Thursday “returned to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement,” United told FOX Business via email.
After landing safely back in Lagos, four passengers and two flight attendants were taken to the hospital for minor injuries and have since been released, the airline said.
An additional 27 passengers and five crew members “had minor injuries,” FAAN said in a statement shared on X.
UNITED AIRLINES ANNOUNCES ‘ACCELERATED’ STARLINK TIMELINE FOR PASSENGERS
United flight 613 was carrying 245 passengers, eight flight attendants and three pilots at the time of the incident.
The aircraft did not sustain “any major damage,” FAAN said.
“We are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause,” United said.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES MAKES CHANGE REDUCING PASSENGER MOVEMENT IN EFFORT TO LOWER INJURY RISK
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 105.00 | +2.00 | +1.94% |
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 176.03 | -2.42 | -1.36% |
“The public may not know for a couple of weeks to a month but the investigators are going to know within a couple of days,” Jeff Guzzetti, a former accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board told the New York Times.
“They’re going to download the flight data recorder and they’re going to interview the flight crew and also listen to the cockpit voice recorder,” he said.
Earlier this month, an Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aborted its takeoff from Melbourne Airport in Australia for technical reasons, according to reports.
Etihad Airways Flight EY461 from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi began its acceleration on the runway just at around 7 p.m. before slamming on the brakes and coming to a stop.
“The flight crew decided to halt the take-off for technical reasons, the aircraft was safely brought to a stop on the runway and emergency services attended as a precaution,” Etihad Airways told UAE state-owned newspaper The National.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a passenger on the plane said two tires burst after the landing gear caught fire.
FOX Business’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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