Qatar Airways was forced to make an emergency landing at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Friday night after one of its aircraft developed a technical fault mid-air, placing 248 passengers and 12 crew members at risk.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed that the aircraft encountered the problem while operating within Nigerian airspace, triggering distress alerts and the immediate activation of the state’s emergency response mechanism.
LASEMA said it received the distress call through its 767/112 toll-free emergency lines, prompting the rapid deployment of emergency responders to the airport.
“Following distress alerts received at the Command and Control Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency promptly activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans,” the report, signed by the agency’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, stated.
Eyewitnesses at the airport described tense scenes as rescue vehicles and emergency personnel lined the runway, while passengers onboard braced for an unplanned landing.
LASEMA said its Lagos Response Team arrived to find that the aircraft had already carried out a forced landing due to technical complications.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the immediate cause of the incident was technical issues suffered by the distressed aircraft,” the agency said.
Commending the flight crew, LASEMA noted that the pilot’s professionalism and swift decision-making helped avert what could have been a major aviation disaster.
“The pilot executed a safe landing on the runway at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport with LASEMA response teams and other emergency responders on extreme high alert,” the statement added.
After landing, the aircraft was inspected by the flight crew and engineers before being moved to the apron for further checks. All passengers were safely evacuated, with no injuries or fatalities recorded.
LASEMA later confirmed that the aircraft had been secured and that recovery operations had been concluded, adding that there was no significant damage to the aircraft.
Emergency responders at the scene included LASEMA’s Command and Control Centre, LASAMBUS, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, said:
“I can confirm that there was an air return. Details will be communicated later.”
Qatar Airways had yet to respond to enquiries sent to its Country Manager, Ken Chirchir, as of the time of filing this report.